Landing a hit is an artist and songwriter’s ultimate moving target, a lifeline of sorts in the industry. From her major cut “Cheers (Drink to That)” in 2010 to her international hit “Lost on You” in 2017, LP has been able to keep up with the times and consistently end up on top.
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In her conversation with Chris Lindsey on Pitch List Podcast, LP shares the highs and lows of her career, including being dropped from Warner, and releasing “Lost on You” which has now surpassed one billion streams.
LP hopes that the Lost on You album and its title track serve as inspiration to other songwriters. Specifically, she hopes listeners remember to hang on even when things look bleak.
“I think that story is one of the best things I can tell people. I mean, it doesn’t happen all the time, but it breaks my heart to think about all the people that didn’t see the light side of that story, that that was the end for them. Warner Brothers was, at that time, my third major label deal, my fifth deal, and I didn’t think I was going to have another wave, hell no, but you just keep writing songs. I feel like that’s the thing about being a songwriter is that it doesn’t matter, you write a hit all anybody’s going to want from you is another hit, so you’ve got to just keep writing them,” LP says.
Gearing up to release her new album Churches on December 3, LP explains that the upcoming record is a reflection of the last two or three years. Thematically, the album explores everything from past relationships to religion.
She shares that this album, which is a bit more “songwriter-y” than usual, is “about dialing in and becoming more of yourself.” Something that hasn’t changed though, is LP’s desire to consistently create works that are true to a certain point in her life.
“As an artist, I want a marker in time,” she says. “I want to leave a body of work, that’s what I’m interested in. I want to collect a body of work and have it and keep moving, so that I can see where I was, what happened, the growth and all that shit, you know? And I enjoy that aspect of it. It’s like when you have home movies of things.”
As a precursor to the album, LP has released the single “Goodbye” which is out now.
For the rest of the conversation where LP talks about upcoming tours, her take on the industry, and more check out the Pitch List Podcast.
