As a songwriter, singer Ingrid Andress discovers her voice
As a songwriter, singer Ingrid Andress discovers her voice
NEW YORK (AP) — In a songwriting session with a group of rappers, which Ingrid Andress was attending to help write a hook, the conversation turned to immature guy talk about “all the different girls they had.”
Uncomfortable and over it, Andress left.
The musician with a publishing deal in Nashville vented to some of her industry friends, popped open a bottle of wine and turned her frustration into songwriting gold.
She began writing “Boys,” a pop bop which later became an international hit for British singer Charli XCX. Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Entertainment Weekly and others named “Boys” one of the best songs of 2017.
The experience of being in rooms with all kinds of artists — pop, rap, R&B, country, rock — helped Andress build her songwriting skills, and now she’s being praised for lyrical prowess on her own album, “Lady Like.” It’s not just one of the year’s best debuts, but one of the year’s strongest albums.
Andress said she’s learned to write honest lyrics and stay true to herself — even if that means being an outsider.
“You’re not just born with the gift of songwriting. It takes time just like any sport or learning a language. You have to practice it,” she said. “I feel like I can adapt to any situation now. To me, it’s about making a good song that makes you feel something. That can be in any genre.”
She added that sometimes “people think if you’re too specific, you’re alienating yourself and not as relatable. I just kind of went for it.”
“Lady Like” is filled with lyrical gems that reflect the budding star’s maturity and knack for one-liners.
Andress, 29, has also written songs for Bebe Rexha, Halestorm, Lauren Jauregui, FLETCHER, Why Don’t We and Dove Cameron. She’s had writing sessions with Alicia Keys and Sam Hunt, though those songs haven’t been released, and she co-wrote (and even co-produced) every song on her debut album.
It might seem she was destined to be a songwriter, but it was a happy accident. The young girl from Colorado who madly played sports also sang in choir, wrote jingles, played piano and appeared in musicals. But she didn’t think music would make a career. That changed one day when she went to see the Colorado Rockies take on the Boston Red Sox in the World Series, and on her way to Fenway Park she heard loud, beautiful music blasting from a building. She headed over, not realizing she was walking into the Berklee College of Music.
“All these musicians just jamming out together — I was like, ‘This is a school? This is a college?’ I was like, ‘What? What have I been doing this whole time?’” she recalled.
The junior high school student “dropped every sport. When we got home, I was like, ‘I quit.’ I need to get my resume up for Berklee.”
In college, she took poetry and songwriting classes, eventually meeting songwriter and music executive Kara DioGuardi, who has written hits for Kelly Clarkson, Christina Aguilera and Pink, appeared as a judge on “American Idol” and signed Jason Derulo to a deal.
