Country newcomer Chase Martin gained a lot more than just a good song out of her new single “Forever + 1.” It turns out the special love song taught her a valuable lesson in authenticity when it comes to songwriting!
Used as the song for the “first dance” at her older sister’s wedding, Chase tells Celeb Secrets Country she originally went into the writing room with a different mentality than normal. Instead of focusing on creating “a number one hit,” she was simply going to write from heart.
“It was funny, I had just figured out she was getting married as I was going into my co-writing session that morning so I just wanted to write something that would be special to her on her big day. I didn’t necessarily think, ‘Oh I want to sing this at her first dance,’ or anything, I just wanted to write something that would be special to her,” she shared.
Seeing such an immediate and huge response from her team has changed the entire way she approaches songwriting. “I was like, ‘Man the one time I don’t try to write a hit song is the time my team calls me and they’re like ‘This song is so good!’ So it was just such a learning experience for me like “Hey, I just need to write songs that are true to me and are really just Chase Martin.”
Celeb Secrets Country caught up with Chase to chat all about her special new single “Forever +1”, her experience performing the song for her sister’s first dance, and the lessons she learned on the importance of authenticity in the music industry!
Take a look at the full Q&A below and don’t forget to let us know what you think of “Forever + 1” by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sending us a tweet at @CS_Country.
You can also connect with Chase by following her on Instagram at @chasemartinmusic.
Celeb Secrets Country: Can you talk about the day you wrote “Forever +1” and the creative process?
Chase Martin: “It’s funny because when I first moved to Nashville, I was 17 years old and I was getting thrown into these co-writing sessions with people all the time. I always thought to myself, ‘Oh, I have to go in and write that song that’s going to kickstart my career. I gotta write that first big number one song.; So that morning, I figured out my sister was getting married and I was going into this session with two guys I had never met before; I didn’t know what their writing style was so I thought to myself, ‘I write a song about every day almost, I don’t even care about writing a hit song, I just want to write a song that’s authentic to me that really comes from a special place in my heart.’ So we just started talking and I think I said something along the lines of, ‘I think it’s really cool that she’s always going to have a forever + 1. She’s never going to have to go anywhere alone or wonder who she’s going to go to the party with.’ When I said that, we all looked at each other and started writing immediately.
That night my team actually got the demo back before I did and I was getting my phone blown up. Finally my manager got me on the phone and he was like “We have to record this song this week. This song is such a good song!” And I was like “Man the one time I don’t try to write a hit song is the time my team calls me and they’re like, ‘This song is so good!’ So it was just such a learning experience for me like, ‘Hey, I just need to write songs that are true to me and are really just Chase Martin.’”
CSC: Can you talk about your experience singing Forever +1 for your sister at her wedding?
CM: “It was incredible. Due to COVID, when they were planning the wedding, she originally had a different venue in mind, and that had to get cancelled. They pushed the date back a little bit and condensed the guest list to really just friends and family, and they ended up having it on her new husband’s family’s property. So it was just really that ‘at home’ vibe. They live out in the country so it was just this little barn, farm type wedding and it was so special and felt like home. It was great to go back anyway because I’m originally from Charleston, SC where they’re still living so it just felt like a home wedding. It was small and quaint and incredible. So I got to sing the song while they danced it. It was very surreal to watch your older sister get married and then get to be apart of that special moment. I’ll never forget it.”
CSC: On your Instagram, you posted what looks like a possible music video for the song. Can you tell us more about that?
CM: “We shot it probably a month ago, so I’ve been sitting on it waiting for everyone to see it so I’m excited. I just have on a white top and a white pant suit with white cowboy boots and I’m sitting behind this incredible 1954 piano. They cleared out the entire floor of this bar of in East Nashville called The Fox and they put this baby grand piano in there. It was funny because it was such an old piano that I guess they couldn’t tune it prior to recording so of course the backing track of ‘Forever + 1’ is going on in the background and I’m sitting there playing it live to make sure it looks real and everything and the piano is so out of tune that all of the behind the scenes videos sound horrific. The poor crew had to listen to it the entire day, it was super super out of tune. It sounded evil. My ears were hurting by the end of that day.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CPqTgaxJ3xW
CSC: Do you have any exciting projects coming up like an album or EP?
CM: “Hopefully the EP is coming soon! We have recorded a bunch of other songs. I don’t know if we’re going to release them single by single yet or as a whole body of work, but either way, I’m really excited for people to hear them. Everything we’ve recorded were songs written after ‘Forever+1,’ so after I learned my lesson of, ‘Hey don’t try to write a hit song; write things that are authentic to you,’ It’s just going to be a whole lot of the heart of Chase Martin.”
CSC: Do you have any upcoming touring plans and are these unreleased songs going to be performed on the tour?
CM: “Yes! They most definitely will be performed. I see a bunch of one off shows being booked and popping up on my calendar here and there so I think for the rest of 2021 it’s just going to be kind of randomness that pops up whenever I can possibly get a show. I’m just looking forward to getting back out there and 2022 we can look into getting more of a set tour.”
CSC: If you could have your dream tour in 2022, which artist would it be with?
CM: “Right now I love Dan + Shay so much, I love Luke Combs, and Jon Pardi. I think those are my three favs right now.”
CSC: Now that everything is getting back to normal in the music industry, what would you say your biggest goal is as an artist this year?
CM: “I’d love to go on a radio tour where I get to meet all of the radio stations in hopes that they’ll spin my song on the radio. I would also like to play the Grand Ole Opry. If I can do those two things my year would be made.”
CSC: Since we’re Celeb Secrets, can you tell us a behind the scenes secret or interesting fact about you that fans wouldn’t know just by hearing your music?
CM: “I’m actually a real introvert. I’m not really social and I’m kind of a homebody. People will always ask me to go out and I’ll always have an excuse as to why I can’t. I feel like I seem really social on social media but I’m not at all. People typically think I’m really outgoing.”
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CPbAxdSJIle/
CSC: That’s so funny because you seem like the life of the party judging by all of your funny TikToks!
CM: “No — I’m the person who stands in the corner at the party like, ‘Oh my gosh someone please come talk to me because I don’t know what to do right now.'”
