Pittsburgh’s Melanie Meriney has been making waves as an independent Country artist in Nashville.
The singer-songwriter has opened for the likes of Little Big Town, Restless Heart, Darryl Worley, the Commodores, Rick Vito of Fleetwood Mac, and Steve Augeri of Journey and in 2013 she was nominated for a Nashville Independent Music Award (NIMA) for Best Female Country Artist.
With her new single ‘Voodoo Doll’ out today, I spoke to Melanie to find out the story behind the song, discuss her upcoming new music, and to talk about her influences…
Your new single ‘Voodoo Doll’ is out today. What’s the song all about and what inspired it?
This was a fun one I wrote a few years ago with Big Machine artist Daniel Smalley. We had been digging a lot of Carrie Underwood’s production off her album and wanted to write something that was almost like a swampy, bayou rocker with a strong female lead. “Voodoo Doll” is all about being in a toxic relationship and letting the guy play with your feelings. After sitting with the song for so long, I thought it would be the perfect track to bring onto the ChaMELeon record since it’s a little bit of that genre-crossover that we’re going for on the album.
Your last EP ‘Up in Lights’ was released in 2017. What are you plans for new music in the coming months after ‘Voodoo Doll’?
Yes, it’s been a while! ChaMELeon is a two-part album, so we’ll release a volume one EP and a volume two EP. The first volume should be out before year’s end and will feature a lot of the singles we’ve already released and maybe some new surprises. Fans can head to my website and subscribe to my mailing list to have first dibs on some of the perks that will come with that release!
The last 18 months have been really tough due to the pandemic. What did you do during that time to keep busy and stay positive?
Honestly, a lot of the pandemic was spent in creative down time. I think for so many years we’ve been pushed to create, create, create, and it’s essential to stop and renew our energy and get inspired again. While I didn’t do a lot of writing during covid, I did get more time to spend on producing some of the songs I already had written- these are the ones I’ve been releasing which will make up the new EPs! I’m very excited to catch up on sharing some of the songs I haven’t had a chance to yet!
You’ve had two singles out so far this year. What’s the reception been like to those?
“Cool Girl” and “Damn Good Story” both came out this summer. I’ve been very surprised (in a good way) about the feedback on each! Not only did we get a lot of outlets covering both the songs and videos, CG got 15,000 streams and DGS got over 30,000 streams in the first month without having been on any Spotify-curated playlists. I’m very thankful to have the support from fans that I do!
Now the world is starting to open up a little more, are you able to get back out on the road and play some shows?
Yes, slowly but surely! Unfortunately some of the shows I’ve been looking forward to like Savannah, GA has yet again been rescheduled. However, the next out of town date I have is at Pittsburgh Winery October 23rd! So, I’d love to see you there, Pittsburgh! I’m going to be playing a lot of new music!
When did you know that you wanted to be an artist?
My career aspirations all started in third grade when I went to my very first concert – Shania Twain! I thought she had the coolest job in the world and from that moment on, I wanted to do everything I could to be a singer. I started voice lessons and learned guitar and began writing songs.
Which artists would you say have had the biggest impact on you and your music?
Other than Shania Twain, I listened to a lot of Fleetwood Mac, Van Halen, Sheryl Crow, Taylor Swift, and Phil Vassar. I think my style comes from a little bit of everyone who was big in the 90s and early 00s.
You released your version of ‘Silent Night’ in 2019. Can we expect any more Christmas music from you?
I would love to release more Christmas music! This year has been kind of crazy with the new EP as well as getting married (!!) but I won’t rule it out completely for this winter!
Melanie Meriney’s new single ‘Voodoo Doll’ is available to stream and download now. Take a listen to it below:
