Lizzy McAlpine on Musicals and Songwriting for the Apple TV+ Series Dear Edward: Exclusive
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The post Lizzy McAlpine on Musicals and Songwriting for the Apple TV+ Series Dear Edward: Exclusive appeared first on Consequence.
It’s been a big year for singer-songwriter Lizzy McAlpine. A year ago this week, the Pennsylvania native released her terrific second album, Five Seconds Flat, which contained the TikTok breakout hit “ceilings” and the beautiful “all my ghosts,” which landed on our list of the Top 50 Songs of 2022. Now, with an even wider fanbase, McAlpine is gearing up for her biggest headlining tour yet, kicking off on April 18th and concluding in mid-May.
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Though McAlpine’s been off the road for a few months, she’s eager to get back in front of her fans once again. “My fans are always so sweet,” she tells Consequence. “I feel like they are so welcoming and supportive and just so loving and caring.”
It’s easy to see why audiences are connecting deeply with McAlpine’s music; her songs reward close listening, like the cathartic twist in “ceilings” or the dark humor of “doomsday.” She thrives in specificity; the fluorescent lights of a 7-11 and a free Slurpee date become catalysts for a wedding daydream in “all my ghosts,” and the “orange show speedway” becomes a reminder of love lost and growth gained.
McAlpine’s subtle exercises in vulnerability are even more arresting considering her warm, dynamic voice. It’s fitting that musical theater is a big influence on her; McAlpine shares that she grew up listening to musicals like Wicked, saw Broadway shows every year, and “almost went to college for acting” before she decided on the prestigious Berklee College of Music. Not only does her theater penchant aid her abilities as a storyteller, it led to her working on a song with Dear Evan Hansen writers Benj Pasek and Justin Paul for the new Apple TV+ series, Dear Edward.
Luckily, McAlpine assures Consequence that there’s more new music to come. Before she heads back on tour, McAlpine is spending her time rehearsing with her band, writing new songs, building legos, watching HBO’s The Last of Us, and fawning over the music of Andy Shauf (whom she claims is her “favorite artist”).
Read the full Q&A with Lizzy McAlpine below.
Your latest single is “Hold On” from the recent Apple TV+ series Dear Edward. What was it like working on the track?
It was really fun! I got to co-write it with Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who are two of my favorite musical theater writers ever. I think that they are so talented and I’ve been a fan of them for so long. And we’ve worked together before this. But they were pitched to write the theme song for this TV show, and Apple was like, “who would you want to write it with?” And they thought of me first. And I was like, “I’m so honored.” So we did a couple zoom sessions and wrote the chorus while I was on tour, actually. So I was like, trying to record a quiet voice memo on the back of the tour bus… it was hard. But it was so much fun. And then, yeah, we wrote the rest of the song a couple months after that.
Is musical theater a big part of your musical backdrop?
Definitely. My grandma has taken me and my sister to see a Broadway show every year since I was like eight or nine. And she loves Broadway. My mom listened to Wicked and all those Broadway shows while I was growing up. So it’s definitely been a part of me for a long time. And then I did theater when I was in high school. I was heavily involved. I almost went to college for acting. I was, like, very close to doing that. The only music school I applied to was Berklee. And I got in there before I auditioned at any of the acting schools. And I was like, “Okay, I’ll just do this instead!”
Are you more interested in contemporary musicals, like those from Pasek & Paul? Or do you prefer the classics, like Rogers & Hammerstein?
I mean, I love all musicals. My grandma listens to a lot of the classics, like My Fair Lady and all those older ones. The King and I is like her favorite musical ever. Those I am only recently getting into, I can appreciate their iconic goodness, but I have not really gotten into them until recently. I mostly I listened to a lot of what my mom would listen to, she would have Wicked on repeat in the car… we went to see it three times on Broadway. So I definitely like the modern ones.
You’re gearing up to go on your biggest headlining tour yet. What are you the most excited for? Any new songs in the mix or cities you’re excited to visit?
I am very excited for this tour, because we’re kind of leveling up. I feel like with every tour, obviously, I want each tour to be different, even if it’s around the same album. I want to always give fans a different experience. So I also always want to be leveling up in terms of production, and every tour should feel a little bit bigger. So this tour, we’re adding new lighting, we’re adding set design, we’re adding a lot of production stuff. We’re changing the setlist a little bit. We’re adding new songs that are not released yet, which is very exciting for me.
When it comes to debuting new songs on tour, do you ever get nervous about how they’re going to translate into a live setting?
I mean, I never know. I honestly don’t think about it very much! A lot of people that I have met, when they’re writing a song, they ask: “how is this going to translate live?” And I never think about that until I’m actually playing it. Because honestly, my music director, first of all, is incredible. His name is Harry, and he is so good at taking the songs and making them bigger for a live setting. So like, I trust him, and I’m not worried about that. But I honestly just pick the songs that I think are really good. And I love the new songs so much. They feel so, like, authentically me that I’m just excited for people to hear them.
I like that you brought up your musical director, because it reminds me of a question I’ve always been interested in, especially for solo artists in 2023 — where did you find the members of your band? Are they college friends? People you met through other musicians or shows?
So originally, I found my bassist through a mutual friend. I was kind of searching for a band like a year and a half ago. And my friend, who was the my musical director for some one-off late night TV shows and stuff, he was like, “I’ll help you put a band together.” I was like, “Okay, great!” So he found my bassist for me. I think he had worked with him on something. And then I found my drummer through mutual friends / other connections. I think I found my drummer and my keyboardist / guitarist, through my music director. But honestly, I don’t know, it kind of all just comes, it feels like it all just… happens, and it all came together for me perfectly. I’m not really involved in, like, the “finding” of the people. I’m just like, “Are they cool?,” and luckily, my band is great.
Especially for a big tour like this, how much time do you spend in rehearsal really perfecting the show?
We will probably do like a week, a week-and-a-half, maybe two weeks. But the band does a couple days without me at first, so that they can get everything pretty much locked in, and then I’ll come in after a couple of days. And then we’ll just be running the set over and over and over again!
You spent a lot of time on the road last year. Do you have any stories about uplifting fan interactions, both in person and online?
People are very nice. They can be very nice, I should say. I mean, they’re always all so nice. I find that like any time I’m out and someone approaches me, they’re just so kind. Personally, if I saw a celebrity or someone — I’m not saying I’m a celebrity — but if I saw someone that I admired out in public, I would never walk up to them. I would literally never have the courage, I’m so nervous. I don’t want to bother them like, you know, but my fans are always so sweet and they’re always just like “Hi, can I take a picture?” I’m like “Of course!” They’re just so cute. But yeah, I’m so bad at talking to celebrities, I’ll be like “Oh, they look so cool” and then I won’t say anything to them but I’ll talk about it for the rest of the day.
What’s your favorite song to play live?
Probably “Orange Show Speedway.” It’s my closing song, though I’m not sure where it’s gonna fall in the setlist this time. It’ll probably be the closing number because it’s just so fun. It’s such a fun note to end the the show on, and everyone is just screaming the words and they’re all there with their best friends. So it just makes me really emotional, honestly. Sometimes I’ll look into the crowd and see these pockets of friend groups that are just like screaming the words, it just makes me so emotional. I love it so much.
You’ve had a few months off after some heavy touring. How do you like to spend your time off?
Oh, I’m still trying to figure that out! I don’t really know. Like, I’m trying to see if I have any new hobbies. I’m trying to figure out what I like to do with my life outside of work, because I feel like my work and my life are just so intertwined. It’s like the same thing. Basically, my work is just… my feelings, and that’s like an everyday thing. So I write a lot. I’m creating, even when I don’t have to be creating. I just love it so much. And it makes me so fulfilled to make things, so I do. I still am writing. I also like to build Legos!
That’s a good brain activity.
It’s really fun, honestly. Any kind of hands-on activity, I like. I’m trying to start embroidering. I just like doing things with my hands, building things and stuff like that.
Spoken like a true guitar player! Do you typically write on piano or guitar these days?
I kind of go back and forth. I started writing on piano when I first started writing in like, sixth grade. I was only writing on piano and then I learned guitar. And since then, I kind of go through phases. I was just writing a lot on piano in the recent months, but I feel like I’m gravitating back towards guitar now.
What has been inspiring you lately?
I feel like there’re so many things music-wise. I have been listening to a lot of Madison Cunningham. And a lot of Andy Shauf. He is my favorite artist. I think that my next record is going to be so heavily inspired by him. He’s just so good. Those are the people who have been inspiring me in music recently. I’ve also been watching The Last of Us on HBO. And I play the video games, they’re some of my favorite video games ever. So I was really excited about this show coming out. Because obviously there was a lot of hype around it before it even came out. I was like, “Oh, this has to be good.” And it fucking is like, oh my god, it’s so good. The visuals, the cinematography, everything… it just makes me want to create.
Lastly, for those that are attending a Lizzy McAlpine show for the first time, what do you hope they take away from the experience?
I just hope that they have fun and that they maybe feel like they’re a part of a community that’s welcoming. A lot of people go with their best friends or they drag their boyfriend along and I’m like, “I love that!” My audience is mainly girls, but then I see like, random men, just bobbing their heads during the show and singing along, and I’m like “yes!” Bring the men along!
But honestly, I see a lot of people on the internet who are like, “I don’t have anyone to go with to the show!” and I just hope that even if they go alone, I hope that they meet people. I feel like my fans are so welcoming and supportive and just so loving and caring, that they can just take people under their wing, and I hope that they have a good time and they feel seen and heard.
Lizzy McAlpine on Musicals and Songwriting for the Apple TV+ Series Dear Edward: Exclusive
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