Hey M Girls,
We had a blast chatting with Conor Maynard! He spilled deets about his album Contrast, the craziest thing he's done to get a girl's attention, and the celeb he ran into on a plane! Check it out below!
How has your time in the U.S. been? Have you had any crazy fan encounters?
I think it's been amazing! We rode this big bus with my face on it! That was really fun. I performed on the Today Show for my debut TV performance, so fans were outside waiting for that, even though they should have been in school already. So that was really cool. It's been amazing so far. I think for me, every time I come here I get to see the progress firsthand because I go away and come back there are new fans I get to meet, so it's really cool! I think it's the random body parts I've been asked to sign is the weirdest! They never seem to have any paper that I could just sign! They say they haven't got anything on them and I'm like "oh god." Elbows are always weird!
So where did your album title "Contrast" come from?
I think people expect quite a young, poppy kind of album. I think for me, I'm offering something a little different - something more R&B and more mature. The contrast between what people were expecting and what was to come, that was one of the reasons I called it Contrast. Contrast within the album - there's the big upbeat dance songs and piano ballads and I've always enjoyed doing that. And contrast with what's already out there. I don't think there are quite any records or artists that sound like it right now. So that's another difference and then another reason about Contrast points out the contrast in my life from before I was signed to now. It's so different.
Where would you want to live if you lived in the U.S.? Vegas, LA?
I do love New York. New York is up there as on of my favorites. It's like a bigger version of London. It kind of reminds me of being at home. I shot the "Vegas Girl" video in New York, so I have incredible memories in New York as well. LA's amazing - we shot the "Turn Around" video in LA. I certainly had a crazy time there.
Click here to watch his "Turn Around" music video!
What is a "Vegas Girl"?
It's just someone who loves to party, someone who has fun. When I meet a girl, the one thing I love is when they love to just have fun and let go and party. I think Vegas is sort of the party central of the world, and I think when someone can party when they're in some random place nowhere near Vegas it's cool.
So was the song and the music video inspired by someone or a real situation?
I think that's kind of mild stalking in the video! You know, taking a picture of her and trying to find her. That was, I suppose, an exaggerated version of when you meet someone and you think they look like a whole lot of fun and you wish you could spend more time with that person.
Click here to watch his "Vegas Girl" music video!
What is the craziest thing you've done to get a girl's attention?
I think sometimes you go out of your way to do weird stuff and it's like "oh, we're walking to the toilets for a third time, what're the odds" kind of thing where you know what you're trying to do and she probably does too, but she might've been creeped out. But sometimes I think you need to do some weird stuff to get someone's attention or if you plan to be somewhere at a certain time. I mean sometimes I'll walk down a corridor of my school when my class isn't there because I know some girl is going to be walking down there at the same time.
What would you say is the most personal song off your album?
"Just in Case". It's a song I wrote towards the end of creating the album about a relationship I was in. It kind of ended because I was too busy and I couldn't really give her what she wanted in a relationship. I think for me, I look back and I'm like "oh wow, I wish things were different." It's called "Just in Case" because she's with someone new now and just in case he messes up, just in case things go wrong with him, I'm still here. Please know that I'm still here. I didn't leave you because I wanted to - I left you because I had to.
I saw you're going on tour soon! Are you excited?
Yeah, definitely! Touring is literally my favorite thing to do. It's always so fun and there's always so many people that I get to meet and fans I've never seen before. Fans always bring weird stuff. They have massive banners and t-shirts. It's nice to see all the creativity of the fans. It's fun to see all the fans and to hear them sing along to the album. They have the album now, so they can have a more interactive experience with the songs. So I hope they enjoy it!
So do you have any crazy celeb connections or friends that someone would be surprised to find out about?
I've worked with some incredible people on the album. I was texting Niall from One Direction the other day. I'm quite good friends with him. Ed Sheeran is really cool as well. I bump into him, he's really nice to talk to. One crazy experience happened recently. I was on a plane on the way back to London from LA and I was kind of sitting in my chair and I heard a tap on my chair and I turned around and it was Rihanna. She was just like "congratulations on everything!" and walked off. I kind tried to say thank you, but all that came out was "dsjfsdk"! That was a crazy crazy experience!
Can you tell us three random facts about yourself?
I like to beatbox. I enjoy beatboxing I have a mole under my eye that my friends call Cocoa Pop (that's what they call Cocoa Puff's in the UK!) and I appeared in a TV show when I was thirteen called Dream Team.
Thanks for chatting Conor!
Let's dish:
-Are you a Mayniac? What do you think of Conor Maynard's "Vegas Girl?"