A Summer Sunday At the Vault Recording Studio

Today, I went back to the Vault Recording Studio for such a fun ten-hour session. I worked on two new songs and celebrated Hear Me Out release week. Here are the highlights.

Christmas in August

For most of the session, I recorded my new Christmas song, “Candy Cane,” which is a total pop bop and a little sassy and jazzy.

Bob and I started by layering all the instruments, from bass and keyboard to percussion. Since this one is uptempo, I recorded sleigh bells. I swear, my arms and shoulders were about to fall off by the time I finished playing the sleigh bells, but it was totally worth it.

Once we wrapped up the production, I sang the song. I wrote this one last Christmas, so I waited a super long time to record it. “Candy Cane” is such a fun song to sing, and Bob and I came up with some background vocals as well. Even though it’s August, the instrumentation put me in the Christmas spirit and made me feel all festive while recording the vocals.

Then, Brett totally sleighed the saxophone—yes, that was a pun. My jaw was practically on the floor. I’ll never get over how perfect the saxophone sounds. Brett played on “Winter Cold” a couple years ago, which is a piano ballad, so it was awesome hearing what he came up with for “Candy Cane,” since this one is uptempo. I’m literally obsessed.

“Candy Cane” is completely finished, and I can’t wait to release it this holiday season. I’m also dropping “Meet Me At Christmas Time.” It’s wild to think that I’ll soon have six original Christmas songs out in the world. Maybe I’ll release a Christmas album someday.

You Can Call Me Cinderella Now

A few weeks ago, I wrote a sassy country song called “You Can Call Me Cinderella Now.” Right away, I fell in love with this one and knew I had to take it to the studio. It has been a while since I was in country land, and Bob said “You Can Call Me Cinderella Now” sounds like a Carrie Underwood song. I’ll be riding that high until the end of time.

Anyway, I had Luke record guitar and bass from Nashville. He did a fantastic job as always. Hearing what he came up with just made me more excited to go to the studio and work on this one.

I had the most fun recording the vocals. My sass-o-meter was cranked up to ten. Bob also put a reverb effect on my voice, which sounds beyond cool and fits the vibe of the song.

Now, Sophia is going to stop by the studio soon to record drums. I don’t think I have ever been this excited to get live percussion on a song. I’m seriously counting down the days.

“You Can Call Me Cinderella Now” is going to be the lead single off a new EP I’m working on for next year. I’m so ready to wrap this song and keep working on the project. So far, I have a title in mind and decided on the tracklist. I’m super indecisive, so I’m not saying more now, in case I change my mind on something. What I know for sure is that “You Can Call Me Cinderella Now” will kick off this chapter.

Celebrating Hear Me Out Release Week

Since my sophomore pop album, Hear Me Out, drops on August 23, I took a cake to celebrate. Yes, it is decorated with butterflies because obviously.

I can’t believe this album is almost out in the world. I love this project so much. This is my favorite collection of songs yet.

So, that’s a wrap on my fun studio day. The Vault is my second home, and I had a blast at my session. I’m already looking forward to going back when the time comes.

If you would like to read about my other sessions, head over to my studio stories and enjoy. I love writing all about my studio days.