Lily Lane – I Do

By: Ilaria Masselli

Q) How would you describe the sound of your music? 

A) I would say I generally before now have made dark soulful pop music, and I’d say that in this new era of my music and life I’m still making soulful pop music but it’s lighter and more romantic than dark.

Q) You said that you are more anxious to speak at your wedding rather than singing or talking in public. How challenging was it for you to write a song so personal and intimate like “I Do?” 

A) Writing “I Do” was actually pretty easy for me. My fiancé had just made such a big gesture with his proposal, and I had so many feelings about that I wanted to express and do something equally meaningful back for him. Most of my songs are personal and intimate and really writing music is the only way I know how to express those things, so expressing them any other way would have been a lot more difficult!

Q) Why did you choose to share your marriage proposal as a topic of your new single? 

A) I chose to share this for the same reason I shared all about my big breakup on the Queen of Hearts EP and on the Nothin’ But Trouble EP before that because I write what I know. I write as a way to express my feelings about life – more specifically my life and this is what is happening right now. It felt silly to write about relationships that meant far less to me than this one and not share this huge, monumental moment in my life with my audience. If you’ve been to one of my shows you would know I am an over sharer. I suppose this is just a continuation of that and I’m totally okay with it because I went to the Taylor Swift school of songwriting by being a Swiftie most of my life and a huge Mariah Carey fan as well (a Lamb!) and they are both strong women that have taught me that the most powerful songs can be the most personal and to not shy away from writing and sharing your truth. This is very much my truth right now!

Q) Listening to your new single, I felt like I was one of the guests at your wedding. It was magical and unique. What do you want to share to your listeners through this song? 

A) Ahh! This is so nice! This is exactly what I wanted you to feel listening to it! I’m really looking forward to sharing it at my wedding and letting it speak for itself, so I don’t have to! [laughs] I think at weddings everyone gets to suspend their pessimism on modern love and dating and just celebrate romantic love for all it can be and that is what I wanted people to feel during this song. Whether they are at a wedding or in a relationship or not, I want everyone listening to feel open to love and all romantic possibilities!  I also wanted to share my real-life love story – I haven’t shared many specifics about my relationship since it started, just a photo here and there. So, getting to spell out our love story and share little tidbits like how he told me he loved me the first night we met, and I thought he was full of shit- those wonderful memories are fun to be able to share.

Q) What is your songwriting process? Do you need to have music before you can craft lyrics?

A) I don’t need to have music before I craft lyrics! I really just hear my songs in my head before I make them, and I am so lucky to have a producer who is usually on the same page as me and can help me make that into reality! I write lyrics first, usually. For this one I had the chorus melody in my head. I knew I wanted it to sound like a church choir and I knew I wanted the refrain to be “I Do.” I don’t need anything but feelings to get my creative juices flowing!

Q) Will there be a full album or EP coming in the near future? 

A) While I was making these songs, I didn’t think so because they are all fairly different genre wise, I just wanted to be true to myself and create in the studio. However, I have affectionately started to call this era my “Lovergirl” era because, while the songs are all over the place in terms of vibe – from ballads to up-tempo pop rock anthems to electro pop dance bangers – they are all about love as I am living in this pre-wedding, newly engaged Lovergirl era. So, long story short, yes an EP is coming in the very near future, but when I wrote these songs I wasn’t planning on it. I was actually pretty focused on just doing singles to save money but they go together so well it’s happening! My next single off this project comes out July 26th!

Q) I know that you are a former Wilhelmina Curve model and an outspoken advocate for body positivity, women and LGBTQ rights. How important is it for you to share these important ideals through your music? 

A) It is so important. I used to think you had to be a certain size to be a model, a certain size to be a popstar, a certain size to be worthy of love and I believed that because that is what I had seen, that’s what had been shown to me.

Q) You had enormous success in the sync space landing placements with the likes of “Pretty Little Liars,” Netflix and other makeup advertisements. What did that success mean to you?

A) That success was huge validation for me in an industry that doesn’t give anyone much validation unless they are topping the charts. It also gave me the ability to be able to focus on making more music and not have a full time in office 9 to 5. “Pretty Little Liars” in particular was so cool because it was a show I watched in high school, so getting to have any part of that was awesome.

Q) You had the chance to perform on the most important musical stages like Madison Square Garden, singing for the Knicks to the KIIS Concert at the Xfinity Center in Massachusetts opening for Big Time Rush, Joko and Hot Chelle Rae. Not mentioning the West Hollywood Pride Festival opening for Jessie J and Madison Beer. We will have the chance to see you again performing live or to see you on a personal tour? 

A) This year with everything going on with the wedding planning I’ve been able to do some shows in LA but not a full tour – definitely hoping to get on tour in 2025 and will be popping around to festivals in the US playing this new project!

Q) Who would you love to collaborate with on a song in the future?

A) John Legend has been my answer lately, his song “Good Night” with Bloodpop is all I have been listening to lately and if I could bottle the feeling that song gives me, I would drink it daily.

Q) What would you like to say to your fans and supporters? 

A) Thank you for sticking around. You give me the opportunity to live my dreams, and I hope you all get the same chance to live yours – I will cheer you on! Really excited for you to hear this new project.