On April 15th, 2017, 19-year-old artist Lauren Dair stumbled across the Stagelight Monthly Music Contest II on social media and on a whim, she casually entered her song Monster. Forgetting all about it, Dair continued her daily life as a college student, vocal instructor, actress, songwriter and singer. A few months later she received an email congratulating her for being the month 12 winner. The contest was presented by Open Labs, Lenovo, Intel, and one of Dair’s guilty pleasures, the band Linkin Park.
Dair was unaware at the time she entered the contest that the grand prize winner would be chosen by the band members themselves, and after much deliberation, the members of Linkin Park decided they loved her song Monster and she was their choice as the winner.
In addition to winning two new computers, a Blue microphone and headphones, and a Yamaha synthesizer, now Dair also won the opportunity to go into the studio with Linkin Park. The announcement of her win was made public on July 20th, 2017. Twenty-four hours later, Chester Bennington, the lead singer of Linkin Park took his own life.
Like most, if not all Linkin Park fans and as part of the music community in general, Dair was heartbroken over the tragic loss of Bennington. She put pen to paper and started to write the song that would become Every Little Light. Under the circumstances she assumed her day in the studio would never come, understanding his bandmates and brothers would need time to process and find a way to heal.
Months went by and she received a call telling her that her studio session with Linkin Park would soon be scheduled. In February 2018, with an unfinished version of the song Every Little Light, Dair entered the legendary Red Bull Studios in Santa Monica, CA and had her session with Mike Shinoda and Brad Delson of Linkin Park. The three worked into the night on the song. She never told them what her original inspiration was, and they didn’t ask; instead they helped shape the song, adding and changing lines, and helping elevate the melody.
Both Mike Shinoda and Brad Delson were beyond complementary and impressed at her skills at such a young age and provided encouragement and great advice. For Dair, it will be a day she will never forget, and she will be forever grateful for the experience.
Every Little Light will be released on April 25th along with an Inside the Studio video with exclusive footage of her session with Grammy winning musicians Mike Shinoda and Brad Delson.
Dair was born in Anchorage, Alaska she always had a deep passion for music, and began writing and recording her own music when she moved Los Angeles at age 10 to pursue acting. When she was 12-years-old, Dair was cast as Young Jess on the hit FOX show New Girl.
At the same age she wrote and recorded her first EP, No Apologies, and found herself playing iconic LA venues such as the Roxy and the Troubadour with a band she founded called Gravity Hill. When the band dissolved in early 2015, Dair questioned what her next step would be. Using her alternative roots as an influence she decided to take her love for acoustic singer/songwriter music and mix it with the vibey, moody sound that is heard in many of her favourite bands. In 2016 she independently released Perfectly Flawed which included the song Monster. Dair plans on releasing more new music in 2018. For now check out Monster below!
We managed to catch up with Lauren as she talked about her upcoming single and more!
Your new song Every Little Light was co-written by Mike Shinoda and Brad Delson of Linkin’ Park, can you share with us the backstory of how you ended up in the studio with them?
Back in March 2017, I saw an ad on Facebook for a songwriting contest put on my Open Labs called the Stagelight Monthly Music Contest II and decided to submit one of my songs. I submitted my song “Monster” and honestly didn’t think about it again; there’s so many of these contests and I was so used to not hearing anything. About a month later I received an email saying that I had won for the month of March. I won a bunch of amazing recording gear courtesy of Lenovo and Intel. After winning the monthly contest, I went on to compete again 11 other fantastic artists for the grand prize. In addition to a brand new Lenovo computer and a Yamaha Synthesizer, the grand prize included a studio session with Linkin Park. Apparently the Linkin Park guys really liked my song “Monster” and picked me as the grand prize winner of the whole contest!
How much are you looking forward to the release of Every Little Light, can you tell us the story behind the inspiration for the song?
I am extremely excited and completely scared to release this song. This song is one of the more vulnerable songs that I have written and anytime I release a song, it’s kind of like releasing a little piece of myself. So anxious, nervous, elated, and every other emotion imaginable.
The inspiration behind “Every Little Light” is very personal and something I wanted to write about for a long time. We often see depression/anxiety/suicide portrayed in a certain light, you know, the person that is always withdrawn and filled with despair. But there are just as many people who mask it very well. As someone who tries to be an optimist, I have been through periods of time where my thoughts got the best of me. However, I was very good at putting on a smile and pretending that everything was great. So with everything that is happening in our world today, I wanted to write a song that comforts those who may be hiding their true feelings and let them know that they are not alone.
Can you tell us something about the track no one else knows?
I actually started writing the song the day after Chester died. Everything kind of just came up out of nowhere and I wrote it in frenzy. The song was done within an hour or so. I
didn’t intend for the song to be influenced by him but after I finished writing it, I realized that there was a lot of his legacy sprinkled throughout the song.
How was it working with Mike Shinoda and Brad Delson on the song?
First of all, they were two of the nicest, hardest working guys I have ever met. They gave a ton of great feedback and really helped shaped the song into what it is today. I played them a couple of different song ideas and we ended up settling on “Every Little Light”. They were complementary and really went out of their way to give feedback that was constructive and helpful. They have been in the business and making music for so long, it was really incredible to watch them analyze my song and show me how they heard it in their head.
Mike Shinoda, is also working on a solo project of his own, do you think you there is a chance you will collaborate with him or maybe tour with him?
You know, who knows! Mike is making some really rad music right now and the fact I was even able to work with him on one song is phenomenal. However, if he asked to collaborate, I certainly wouldn’t say “no”. It’s fun being a fan of his music and then sitting back and remembering that we worked on a song together.
What’s next for you, will you be releasing an EP or an album in 2018?
I would love to start working on another EP. There will be more music coming out in 2018 I promise, but you’ll just have to wait just a bit longer. I’ve spent the last couple years juggling music and school but I’ll be graduating from Berklee College of Music in a couple of weeks with my degree in Music Business. So I’m hoping to have more time to dedicate strictly to making music.
If you could work with another artist or band on another track, who would it be and why?
Oh boy, that’s such a hard question because I admire so many different artists in different genres. I absolutely idolize Dave Grohl because I think he’s such a smart writer and musician. I also love his outlook on the music industry; he’s so innovative and one of the best performers I’ve ever seen. Runners up would probably include Mumford and Sons, Troye Sivan, Sia, Colony House, Jack Antonoff, and honestly the list could go on and on.
What has been the highlight of your music career so far and is there any goals you wish to achieve in the next ten years?
Not going to lie, this whole experience working with Linkin Park and Open Labs has been a true blessing and completely unbelievable. Another huge highlight would be selling out the Troubadour when I was 15 years old. That is my all time favorite
venue and really was the point when I realized music was something I wanted to pursue my whole life.
What was the first ever gig you went to?
So, slightly embarrassed to admit this, but the first concert I ever attended was Hilary Duff when I was seven years old. My mom bought me tickets for Christmas and somehow managed to get me backstage passes to meet her and I don’t think I had ever been so excited in my entire life.