Singer and song-writer Conor Maynard first made his appearance on the music scene six years ago, with the release of his debut album ‘Contrast,’ which featured hit tracks such as ‘Can’t Say No’ and ‘Vegas Girl’ – among several others.
Since the release of this album, Conor has continued to go from strength to strength, including regularly uploading videos on to YouTube, gaining over nine million monthly listeners on Spotify, embarking on a new project with his brother Jack Maynard and more.
He has recently announced that he will be featuring in Broadway musical ‘Kinky Boots’ in New York from December 2018 to January 2019, whereby he will be playing Charlie Price. For a full list of dates and to buy tickets to ‘Kinky Boots,’ make sure you click here.
I have a HUGE announcement!
IM COMING TO BROADWAY!https://t.co/knFMAsjGrT
GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!
RT RT RT pic.twitter.com/8LQtx2rFu0— Conor Maynard (@ConorMaynard) October 11, 2018
Here at CelebMix, we had the opportunity to speak exclusively with Conor Maynard about his upcoming role in ‘Kinky Boots,’ new music and more. Make sure you keep reading to check out our exclusive interview!
With regards your upcoming role in musical ‘Kinky Boots,’ are you looking forward to being in the musical?
“Yes – I think it’ll be really fun. I’ve never done anything like it before, so it’s definitely going to be an interesting experience and a massive learning curve as well. The only thing I’ve ever done even close to this was when I was like nine years old and that was in a pantomime. This is a lead role situation. I’m excited, it’s going to be fun!”
Have rehearsals started yet? If so, are they going well?
“I have three weeks of rehearsals and the show starts November 19. It’s going to be an intense three weeks of rehearsals.”
When CelebMix recently spoke with Jack Maynard, he said that your family were planning on coming out to see the show. Do you think this will add to your nerves?
“I think so! I think they are coming out for a Christmas show, so I will have been doing it for over a month by then, so I’m hoping by that point, I’ll be pretty comfortable and know what I’m doing. I’m much more nervous about the first few shows, where it’s like ‘oh my God, this is it, this is actually happening right now!” – that’s what makes me feel a bit more under pressure than them coming, because hopefully by then, I’ll be pretty good at it.”
You recently supported your brother Jack Maynard on several of his tour dates. What was that like?
“The only two shows I was meant to be doing were Glasgow and London. It’s his fans – his fans are very crazy and loud. That made it all the more exciting to perform as GOAT for the first time together, which was funny. I’m really proud of him.”
Moving on to your new music, will there be a different music sound or will it be similar to music released in the past?
“It’s going to be a natural development. It’s been six years since I released my first album. I’m twenty-five now and in a month’s time, I’ll be twenty-six and I released my first album when I was nineteen. I think that there is definitely going to be a natural progression in the sound. It won’t be a million miles away, but I think definitely a little bit more grown up and a lot better.”
Who are your musical influences?
“Right now, I think Post Malone is amazing and Khalid is great.”
Have your musical influences changed from the release of your first album?
“I think the majority of them have stayed the same. I guess I can’t ever change who I grew up listening to, so my musical influences will always stay the same. I’ve listened to a lot of new music. I think the main thing that has changed is the song-writing. I think I’ve got a lot more into song-writing than I was back then. I didn’t realise how much I actually enjoy writing an entire song from scratch. With my first album, the songs were either sent to me or I’d be in a studio with a bunch of people and we’d all collaborate, whereas now I’ve got quite a close, closed team. The three of us would be me, my friend and another friend, who make a lot of music from scratch, so it’s a lot of fun.”
If you were to collaborate with any artist, who would you like it to be and why?
“I don’t know really. I think there’s a lot of people. The Weeknd and Drake would be amazing and to collaborate with some Spanish artists would also be amazing as well – Bad Bunny or J Balvin would be really cool. There is a lot of movement and hype around the Latin pop market right now.”
What is one thing you would particularly like to achieve music-wise?
“I think reaching the Number One spot on the Global Spotify Chart would be amazing and on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts, reaching a Number One on that would be great – whether that be a single or an album, I think both would be a huge achievement. I’ve never attended the Grammy Awards before – that would be a cool thing to go to. I’ll be going to the upcoming BRIT Awards, but I have never been to the Grammy Awards before, so that would be a lot of fun.”
Finally, do you have a message for your fans and everyone who continues to support you?
“I want to say thank you to you guys for sticking around, while I take forever to release new music. I’ve been uploading loads of things on YouTube, but I know the main thing they have been waiting for is new original solo material, which I promise is coming much sooner than they think.”