Maggie Szabo – Forgive and Forget

By: Jamie Steinberg

Q) How would you describe your sound?

A) I usually call it soulful pop because I love mainstream pop music, but always grew up listening to soulful music. So, I feel it is an infusion of the two.

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

A) Growing up I loved so many artists. I loved Etta James, Tracy Chapman, Eva Cassidy and Carole King has always been one of my idols. She is an amazing artist and songwriter. As I grew up, I really got into John Mayer and Justin Timberlake.

Q) Your new song is “Forgive and Forget.” What inspired it?

A) I moved to LA just over two and a half years ago and I wrote that song within the first year of me living there. I wrote it very soon after I had gone through this terrible up and down relationship thing. I sat down at my piano one night and the song just kind of came out. It’s definitely the most personal song I have written. It’s based off of a true story that happened to me. For me, it was therapy writing the song so a good thing came out of a bad situation.

Q) What kind of fan response have you gotten to the song?

A) It’s great because the one thing I love about music is that so many people can relate to different songs. I’ll listen to an artist’s song and it makes me feel better knowing someone else went through it. So, I’ve had a lot of people reaching out saying they have gone through something similar and this song they can really relate to because of that. It’s just nice knowing everyone goes through ups and downs and music is that one universal thing we can all relate to.

Q) How much of a hand do you have in the production of your music?

A) With production, I’m very involved. With every song, I work with a producer, but I’m there from the very beginning to the very end. There is a certain sound that I love to get a grasp on and a lot of the producer’s job is to try and pull that out of an artist. For me, as an artist, I love the process of songwriting. I start with the song writing, then I go into the studio and then make it come to life with a producer. So, when I’m working with a producer I like to be a part of the whole process and to kind of figure out with them what sounds we like and what direction we want to take it.

Q) What is the song writing process like for you?

A) With every song, it’s different. It keeps it fun and exciting. With this song, I just kind of sat down, started playing chords and I just began singing along melodies and lyrics. But it always happens totally differently. Sometimes I’ll write a slew of lyrics and then I’ll write the melodies and chords to it. Sometimes it starts off with a melody and I try to write lyrics to it. Lately, too, I’ve been doing some stuff with DJs in Europe, which is a completely different process. They will send me a track and I write over that track. It’s always different, but at the end of the day it just comes down to an inspiration for something and then it goes from there.

Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song?

A) There are so many artists I love now. I think if I had to pick three artists to collaborate with it would be John Mayer, Justin Timberlake and Macklemore. It would definitely be interesting. I love all of those artists because they are all great songwriters and tell stories with their music. So, it’s kind of one thing they have in common.

Q) You were personally chosen by Perez Hilton to be his “Can You Sing” contest winner. Have you stayed in touch?

A) We haven’t since then. There has always been a little bit of a back and forth between me and his team. It hasn’t been a lot, but I’m hoping (fingers crossed) that he’ll share this song. He was a great supporter and now that this is kind of an original piece of material it is a little bit more difficult to get peoples’ attention with it. But I’m hoping this is the one.

Q) You are a part of social media. Why is that such an important way for you to connect with your fans?

A) The thing that is so great about social media is that I can get a message and respond right away. Even if a fan is in India, I can communicate with them and get feedback from them as far as what they like about my music. It’s just a great way to stay close to fans and get the instant feedback on new music.

Q) Can fans expect an album or EP from you soon?

A) Absolutely! This song is one of twelve songs on an album that I recorded. We spent the last year writing and recording this album. Right now, we’re in the process of finalizing that and figuring out how we want to release it. But absolutely an album will be coming out very soon. I’m excited to share it with everyone.

Q) What can fans do to help promote your music?

A) The best thing they can do is share it with their friends and play it for their friends and family. Share the music online. The greatest thing about sharing on social media is that idea of word of mouth – just sharing stuff with people who you think might like the song as well. So, the best support they can give me is to share my music and tell their friends about it.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your music?

A) I would honestly love to say thank you so much. At the end of the day, I do music because it makes me feel better and it is a great way to express myself. The thing that makes it really magical is to have people listen to it and relate to it. At the end of the day, that’s what matters most. So, thank you to everyone who is listening, relating and giving me positive vibes on all of it. Other than that, just keep the music alive and keep sharing it. Thanks so much for all of the support.