Born and raised in the suburbs of Los Angeles, Danny Padilla is a big-hearted teddy bear of a human who doubles as a musician and YouTube personality. Stemming from the world of covers, one of his greatest successes came when he and a friend decided to cover popular songs live whilst performing impersonations on the spot that the other was feeding them. This concept, which combined comedy and musical talent, gained tons of notoriety on sites like Reddit, Buzzfeed, and Facebook.
Danny has since expanded into original music (which is where his main passion lies) and original vlog (video blog) content. Though relatively new to songwriting, Danny wrote and co-produced three singles in 2016, all of which garnered recognition and praise from fans as well as industry professionals. His love for people and desire to make a difference in anyone’s life who’s willing to listen to him and his music is what keeps him (and will continue to keep him) going every single day. With an endless future ahead, he looks to change as many lives as possible in the best way possible.
In this interview spotlight, we chat with Danny about influences, the newest project, music consumption preferences and much more.
Full Q&A along with links and streams below.
Let’s dive a little deeper into You, the artist and your music. What attracted you to this genre(s) or style(s)?
Wow, I guess I’ve always really loved the idea of slow and emotional music. I kind of grew up on Ed Sheeran, John Mayer, Sara Bareilles, Coldplay, and many other artists that really showed me the power of listening to emotive music when feeling emotive yourself. Throughout my journey into the music sphere, the slow, emotive tracks conti-nue to be my strong suit, as I really put my entire soul into expressing some real emo-tions stemming from real-life situations. There’s just something so unbelievably cathar-tic about releasing something real and honest into the world. As time has passed, I’ve also, however, really taken a liking to some more upbeat vibes and have since tried to incorporate some more positive music into my repertoire. As a musician creating art out of real situations, you have to cover the entire emotional spectrum rather than just one part. Humans don’t only experience one emotion in life, and there’s always a time and place for each emotion (and songs that go with it).
What led you into this journey with music? And further, what drives you to push it out to the public?
I found that, while writing with some of my more experienced musician friends, I had a knack for writing melodies and lyrics that just seemed to click. I guess I spent so much time listening to popular music that I’ve sort of developed my songwriting and perfor-mance skills to the point where plenty of friends and family have told me to pursue it. Since really realizing this whole thing has potential, I’ve really shifted focus to the liste-ner and how I can make them feel, because music I listen to sure as heck affects me. I think more than anything I want to create music that’s organic to myself and everyone out there who’s like me or who wants to experience my story in hopes of having it af-fect their own. That’s what keeps me going.
Who or what influences your creativity? Have your tastes in music changed over time?
Everything, honestly. I’d say relationships/breakups in particular have really given me the most compelling stuff to write about though. I’ve learned, however, to really em-brace any scenario in which I feel super compelled to write. Those situations are very rare yet very crucial to writing an honest song. As far as people, I’d say the artists that really open my mind to other creative possibilities are people like Jon Bellion, Ed Shee-ran, John Mayer, The 1975, Tori Kelly, Halsey, and Dua Lipa. Seeing them in action really inspires me.
My taste in music has changed so much over time it’s absolutely ridiculous! I’m really glad though, because it means that I’ll always have a developing sound that doesn’t run the risk of growing stale for the most part.
Were you trying to accomplish anything specific with your single “Too Bad”? Creatively or otherwise?
For me, “Too Bad” was all about embracing things that might seem counterintuitive to what I’ve been taught songwriting-wise. I’ve learned that one of the best things you can do for yourself as an up-and-coming artist is to say yes to any opportunity to be different from the norm (assuming you like the “different”). With “Too Bad”, my produ-cer and I grappled with the idea of trying to come up with a wordier chorus because pop and singer/songwriter tracks tended to have that. Instead, after an hour or two of failing to find something that really stuck, we decided to stick to the melody I created from the very beginning and use it as the entire chorus (the melody that is used in the final track). I had written that on its own a few days before, and I knew it was catchy, but I didn’t genuinely think I could revolve the whole song around it (because there aren’t really any words) until I really took a step back and embraced the “weird” and “different” in that choice.
What was the last song you listened to?
Oh wow, I think it was “Why” by Sabrina Carpenter. It’s a new song that just came out on Spotify’s “New Music Friday” playlist, and I’ve been decently obsessed with it since hearing it for the first time. Sabrina’s going places.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
I love the idea of vinyl and will listen to it when I’m at a friend’s house that has a re-cord player, but I’m typically all about the digital world, so MP3’s and WAV files are my thing. Most of my music is consumed on Spotify, so yeah.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
I really prefer Spotify. They do a phenomenal job making the site into more of a social media platform, which allows people to easily consume all of the music their friends/favorite influencers listen to. They also do a good job of really exposing artists’ music to people who might enjoy it, even if you’re less well-known. For me, playlists like “Discover Weekly” and “Release Radar” expose my music to a bunch of new people weekly, and they also give me new music to listen to based on my tastes.
Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what is the biggest challenge you face when trying to connect with or find new fans?
I’d say the biggest challenge is becoming different and a necessity to listeners. Because there is so much music out there and so many people doing what you do to an extent, it’s really up to the artist to prove to the world why their music and point of view is dif-ferent and vital to their lives. The artists that might not be as successful are the ones who might be a little more timid about embracing a uniqueness they might have.
Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more music?
I’m all about Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, and Spotify. If you want to get to know me more as a human, definitely interact with me on Twitter, Instagram, and Sna-pchat. If you want to hear what music I’ve been listening to, Spotify’s where it’s at. If you want to see what kind of music and video content I enjoy making in hopes of en-tertaining yourself, then definitely go to my YouTube channel!
Anything else you’d like to add before signing off?
Don’t forget to smile more often! People will actually think you’re funnier, that’s a legit fact! Also, just do what you love and love what you do.
Oh and follow me on my social media 🙂