Meet Blooming Indie Artist Michele Leigh
Michele Leigh, an independant singer/songwriter born and raised in Miami Beach, Fla., released her first debut EP “Sunflower” on Aug. 21, 2020. In light of this exciting new step in her music career, I had the opportunity to ask her a few questions.
[Unpublished]: Where did your love for music come from? What made you want to start making your own?
[Michele]: My love for music sprouted when I was little. I always sang with my parents and with the elementary chorus. It became a comfort hobby for me. Singing would take my mind off of any troubles I was facing at the moment, and it still does today.
Before making my own music, I'd often sing songs that related to my current emotions. My freshman year, I went through my first heartbreak, and I couldn’t find any songs that particularly related to the feeling I had at that moment. From there, I resorted to making my own music in hopes that people who felt the same way would find my music relatable and a good way to cope with their feelings while singing along.
[Unpublished]: As an artist, what would you say you’re most proud of so far?
[Michele]: I am most proud of and thankful for the people who have supported me since I first started coming out with my own music, despite people having doubted me. Although I am not nearly where I'd like to be, my earliest supporters trusted my potential to grow and are finally seeing it happen with their own eyes in real time.
[Unpublished]: What are three interesting facts about yourself that you’d like our readers to know?
[Michele]: My favorite color is light purple, I'm a scorpio, and I like to collect crystals.
[Unpublished]: What artist/band would you most like to meet? Why?
[Michele]:I would love to meet Rex Orange County. He inspired me to begin writing my own music, simply because of how detailed his lyrics are. I strive to be as lyrically inclined as him, and would certainly like to work with him one day.
[Unpublished]: Can you tell me a bit about your creative process? What was it like writing your song “Sunflower”?
[Michele]: Heavily influenced by events that happen in my life, I translate my experiences and document it through music. I often sit in my room in front of my computer, writing down my feelings. This then turns into a creative process when I turn my heartfelt words into the songs you hear on my streaming platforms today.
[Unpublished]: If you were any song in the world, which one would you be?
[Michele]: I would be “toothpaste kisses” by the maccabees. The song is all about healing from your own experiences with the spark of a new love. I find love in everything, and it’s a huge part of my healing process. The song makes me want to hug everyone I run into.
[Unpublished]: If you had to describe your debut EP in three words, what would they be?
[Michele]: Heartfelt, experimental, and retrospective. Heartfelt because I really had to dig into my heart to put together the right words which made up my lyrics. Experimental because this is the first time I have ever released something longer than a single, and I had to give an equal amount of attention to all songs, while making them stand out in their own way. Retrospective because these songs were crafted to represent heartbreaks and situations in which someone may have lost a person close to them.
Make sure to check out Leigh’s latest release "Sunflower"
and to keep up with her on TikTok and Instagram.