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Breaking into the music industry is a difficult task.
But New York-based singer/songwriter Hope has a great start.
The artist has had songs on the “P.S. I Love You” and “Why Did I Get Married?” soundtracks.
“Having those songs out there helped me get noticed,” she said during a recent phone interview with the Journal. “It’s been an amazing time in my life.”
Hope is currently on a promotional tour, opening for Ryan Star, for her upcoming debut album.
“I’ve worked so hard on the album, I’m ready for it to be coming out,” she said. “It’ll be out sometime this winter, but I wanted to get out and promote it.”
Hope’s first single, “Love, Love, Love” featuring Jason Mraz, has been released to radio and is getting a good response.
“It’s so weird to hear myself on the radio,” she said. “But it’s amazing to see how far I have come, and I’m looking forward to the future.”
Hope said that while recording the album, she realized there was something missing.
“The album needed a freeing song,” she said. “So me and the producer sat down and wrote ‘Love, Love, Love’ in a couple hours.”
Hope admits that after the single was written, she had thought of trying to get Mraz to collaborate with her.
“No one ever knew that I secretly wanted Jason to sing on the song because I’m such a huge fan,” she said. “But my producer thought he would sound great on the track so he sent it to him. Jason loved it and recorded his part in San Diego. From there we put our tracks together.”
But Hope’s dreams came true at the video shoot in Malibu, Calif. Mraz showed up to film the video with her.
“I was nervous for several reasons,” she said. “I’ve watched music videos my entire life and here I was doing my own. It was very surreal. The director and Jason made it a lot easier for me. The helped me out when I got lost.”
Hope said she’s been involved with music since she was little. At the age of 3 she was playing piano and singing.
“I was born into music,” she said. “But by the time I was 13, I realized that I could do this for a living and started on my journey.”
And while her journey has had some bad points, Hope said her album reflects how we all need love.
“Love is food to our soul,” she said. “We have to sit back and love ourselves and love the earth we live in. We have to love the world. Sometimes we get caught up in the daily life. We have to take the time to reflect on each day.”
Hope will tour with Ryan Star for a couple weeks, and she’s excited to start getting more exposure.
“I think Ryan and I fit in the singer/songwriter genre perfectly,” she said. “I’m excited to get on stage and perform acoustically.”
After the short tour, Hope will join artists like The Script, Colbie Caillat, Mat Kearney, Lifehouse and Train on the VH1 Best Cruise Ever.
“These are artists I’ve always looked up to,” she said. “Colbie has been a friend for a long time, so I’m excited to get to perform with her.”
Hope said there is one thing she is apprehensive about being on the cruise for a week.
“I’m scared to be on the ocean for that long,” she said. “I’ve been on the Hudson River before, but that was a quick trip. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
If you go
WHAT: Ryan Star with Hope
WHEN: 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 24
WHERE: Launchpad, 618 Central SW
HOW MUCH: $5 available at www.launchpadrocks.com
