DEBUT: Singer Annissa Murad On Biggest Music Inspirations, London Living , And New Single ‘Blue’

This 14 year-old just made her music career debut!

You may recognize Annissa from her amazing run in the 2020 TeenStar competition. Now, she’s back with her debut single, entitled ‘Blue’.

We had the amazing honor of talking with Anissa on her songwriting process, favorite night outs, and more!

When did you first realize that you wanted to pursue singing?

A: “When I was eleven years old, for Christmas I received Taylor Swift tickets to go see her in concert at Wembley Stadium. At the time I didn’t know very much about her so wasn’t sure what to expect, however when she came onstage the atmosphere was just so electric and there were fireworks, dancers, massive snakes on stage, wristbands lighting up the stadium and I was like to myself “OMG!”. I just thought it was so incredible how she was able to use music to bring people of all ages and demographics together and create an experience of a lifetime. I still remember it to this day and thought to myself if I could one day do the same and create the most fun, freeing and relatable music everyone can just rock out to it would be my dream… Ever since then I have been working towards that goal and can’t wait for people to hear my first ever single “Blue”!!”

Tell us about your amazing debut single “Blue”.

A: “Well Blue is about that feeling of disappointment and confusion where you are trying so hard to impress someone but no matter what you do they just seem to never take notice of you or even care. It’s a story based on relationships but not only the romantic kind, in fact I love writing songs about friendships and really want people to interpret Blue in their very own personal way, whether it is is a romantic relationship, friendship or even a song just to pick them up from feeling Blue. It’s a song designed to take you away from anything making you feel Blue and I hope it is able to do that!! At the very end I sing my favourite line of the song “Why should I care if I’ve done everything, everything I could do… there’s no point, so guess what… I’m not Blue…”. I really hope when people listen to the song they can feel empowered by not needing to carry on trying to impress that person who could not even care enough to notice them as they were made for bigger and better things. It is also a message not to hold onto things that aren’t helpful to your life and just letting go of everything making you feel Blue. Just like the essentials you would take on a road trip, “Blue” is a song I feel should be part of your essentials to life. At the end of the day, everyone needs that pick me up song to help let go of what is bringing them down which I hope “Blue” can do!!”

What was your songwriting process like?

A: “The thing I love about songwriting is that it’s slightly different every time which keeps things fresh, new and exciting, although it’s almost always inspired by my own life. However if I were to give a rough outline of what I usually do it would be to first come up with a cool concept (which can happen at any time of day), build the character of the song and the world around it, then create a map of the storyline, after I would probably search for a melody that fits in with the vibe of the song and then play it to my family to see what they think. They are definitely brutally honest so if the response is good I will usually go ahead and polish it up (unless I decide I actually hate the song which happens sometimes). Once I’ve got a solid draft of a song that I feel could fit in with my vision of creating music reminiscent to the soundtrack to a movie I will play it for my producer and Vocal coach. If that response is also good I will try to work with my producer in creating a great song I would want to put out to the world which everyone can rock out to and connect with. I love happy endings in movies and so try to give my songs a little element of happy resolution as I truly believe you can solve every problem you are faced with or overcome any hardship you face as long as you feel you can.”

Who would you say are your biggest music inspirations?

A: “Taylor swift- I love here storytelling skills, incredible lyrics, genuine kindness to fans and work ethic she has which has really inspired me to strive for the same.

-Avril Lavigne- I love her ability to transport you to a realm of fun which makes you feel like just another teenager living their life in a throwback movie from the 2000s. Songs like sk8er boi and complicated have really inspired me to make pop-rock inspired music with vivid and crazy fun imagery in music videos which look like movies (I’m really into the whole movie idea).

-Jaden Hossler- I just love his music and the way you can just rock out to anyone of his songs and feel so energised and uplifted. I love the tracks and pop-punk aspect to his sound which have inspired me to incorporate those elements in future music I am hoping to release. 

–Classical composers Chopin and Mozart have actually really inspired me to pursue music as I began playing piano at 5 years old and as I got older was so inspired by my piano teacher who is an incredible pianist and exposed me to amazing music which I felt so inspired to play. I think it really helped with coming up with cool melodies for my song. Thanks Chopin and Mozart “

When not singing, what are some of your favorite things to do?

A: –“I will never turn down a good Friday movie night with popcorn, a great comedy movie and my friends or family (including my two cats) Fridays are literally my fave days…even more than the weekend.

–Hanging out with my brother and catching up on what’s going on in each others lives.

–Day outs in central London with my family and friends, we live in London so when it’s good weather (which is very rare), we like to make the most out of it!

–Going out for dinner ( it’s literally my fave thing)… and also dinner parties with friends

–Travelling to Sardegna!! I’m half Italian so we try to go as often as we can to visit family and friends which I just love!

–A fun fact is that before wanting to become a singer, I used to want to be an olympic gymnast and used to train 5 days a week with a squad. Gymnastics is still something I enjoy doing however I don’t do it as often now.

–Drinking coffee!!! I am always up for a coffee date ESPECIALLY at Starbucks, I just feel it picks you up and is a great feeling.

–I also love spending time talking with the AMF on instagram, which are by amazing followers!! We created a group called the AMF which stands for the “Annissa Murad Friends” and it’s a place built from the most incredible people where anyone can come join us and literally just make friends and have a place to look forward to coming back to at the end of their day!”

Can we expect more music from you in the future?

A: “YESSSS!!!  I have written sooo much material and really hope I can share it very soon, in the future I would love my music to act as the soundtrack to someone’s very own movie and capture all the relatable elements that bring a movie together such as the rollercoaster ride of emotions like sadness, happiness, dissapointments, excitement and overall bring things to a happy ending and leave you feeling uplifted from whichever hardships you may be going through. I feel as though people should be living their lives as the main character to their own movie and not an extra in somebody else’s. I hope my music can help people do that and in the future hope to create a soundtrack for every scene and scenario that makes up your very own personal movie!! Even though some people may feel as though they are the only ones experiencing something (I know I have before) I really hope by making relatable music which emulates a soundtrack to a movie, it will open up people’s eyes and see that their is a whole world of people going through the same thing which I  think makes you feel a lot less alone.”

What are some of your biggest goals for your music career?

A: “1. Firstly I would love to create my own version of pop-punk but with clean lyrics and stronger storylines however keeping the youthful element of the music that makes you feel like your living in the rewind of a throwback 2000s movies with heavy guitars and real drums, (similar to Avril Lavigne but with my own spin) and it’s bright, fun and crazy imagery for music videos, live shows and album covers etc.

2. One of my big goals is to one day be able to collaborate with Travis Barker who has helped make some of my favourite songs like those of Lil huddy, Jaden Hossler and WILLOW. I love his ability to transform music into something you can just rock out to and forget everything you are holding onto, even if it’s just for 3 minutes of a song. The vibe he is able to create with his drums especially is something I feel would take my music to a whole other level and just perfectly match the fun, lighthearted pop-punk inspired music I am striving to create.

3. Another one of my goals is to land a role on a teenage TV show as I just love acting and feel it would be such a cool experience.”

Where can we follow your amazing journey?

Insta: @AnnissaMuradMusic https://www.instagram.com/annissamuradmusic/?hl=en

 (you can find snippets of new songs, covers of your favourite artists and sneak peaks into my own life taking you along on my London adventures!!

Stream “Blue” now!

https://linktr.ee/AnnissaMuradMusic

Je’Kayla Crawford– Founder and Director– Je’Kayla has been a journalist for years and decided to start a publication of her own, New Scene. When not helping her team and working on the monthly issues, you can find her watching a movie on Netflix or baking using a viral Tasty recipe.