CELEBRITY

Roméo Testa interview!

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We chatted with Roméo Testa, hot new singer on the block, about how he got started and his single for the 7UP commercial! Also, take a listen to his EP! Check it out..

 

Your song ‘Light It Up’ is featured on the 7UP ‘UP Anthem’ commercial song. Did you ever think a song you recorded would be used for a nationwide commercial? 

The dream is for your music to get heard in the most magnified way possible. These commercials are breaking bands and artists these days so it’s always been a goal to get a placement like the 7UP spot.

Tell us about your EP ‘The End’ which is available now. What kind of music can readers expect to hear?
I pulled from a lot of influences on my personal collection. We can expect to hear some rock, hip-hop, and a lot of old soul influences. I wanted to give listeners a sample of what they can expect to hear on the album. I worked on it over so much time, that I wanted all of the songs to represent every stage of my writing process up until that point.

How did you decide on the album title?
The End is actually the name of the song that I got signed with at Columbia. I wrote the song when I was 13 and it really marked the beginning of my career, so I decided to name the EP in honor of it. It’s also tattooed on my back.

Do you have a favorite song from the EP?
I’m So Down. I feel like it perfectly blends all of my influences into one. I grew up a classically trained violinist and I absolutely love to include big orchestrations in my songs and this one definitely takes the cake. Al Shux, who produced the record, completely killed all the instrumentation and created an atmosphere that I think just works perfectly. So definitely I’m So Down, yeah.

How does your previous song ‘With You’ differ from your latest song ‘Light It Up’?
With you is a very intimate song that I wrote in London. I think the biggest difference between the two is obviously that Light It Up is way more bombastic and orchestrated where as With You is much more stripped back and straight to the point.

Who are some of your musical influences? 
My parents raised me on a lot of world music as a kid. I grew up listening to nothing but the blues every Saturday night on KJAZZ. I listened to a lot of John Mayer and Buddy Guy, as well as Led Zeppelin so my influences are pretty all over the place. I listen to everything I can though.

What is the best advice you ever received?

I remember when I was in 8th, my drama teach sat me down to talk while I was going through a rough stage of my life and said, “This life is too short for problems, and there’s no room in the world for more.” That moment was defining for me, those words are actually the opening line of my song The End and they really resonated with me. Being a kid in the world today, everything is really fast paced and you don’t get a chance to just stop and realize that everything is momentary, including life so that really was a total eye opener for me.

Favorite song at the moment? 
Studio by Schoolboy Q and BJ the Chicago Kid, that’s my song right now and they are two of my favorite artists right now.

Are you on any social networks  where fans can follow you?

Yeah I got it all. Twitter and Instagram are under my name @RomeoTesta.  You can reach me on Facebook at RomeoTestaMusic.

 

Listen to Roméo’s EP: http://romeotesta.com/listen

Buy his single on iTunes: http://smarturl.it/RomeoLightItUp

Photo credit: Tnah Louise