“Music is my way of expressing myself,” Nicholas says.
The singer, who underwent a healing process in the writing of his new single ‘Hollywood Hills’, says the journey was a tumultuous one and that he felt like there was a weight lifted off his shoulders once the song drew to a close.
“It was like I could breathe again,” he says. “It felt like I let go of the person who I was in my failed relationship and in doing so, I shaped a better, new Nicholas through my pain. It is sort of like a snake shedding its skin. I felt ready to face the trials of life again.”
The song, which was inspired by a broken heart of a failed relationship, forms part of a trilogy. ‘Hollywood Hills’ follows the release of his highly successful debut single ‘Someone New’. The latter can be described as being in the midst of the storm during the break-up, whereas ‘Hollywood Hills’ is about the aftermath thereof. The title is significant of show business and its theatrical nature.
“After my breakup, I felt like acting out and being rebellious,” Nicholas says.
Although acting out wasn’t possible due to work responsibilities, Nicholas dreamt of becoming someone else, someone who wasn’t heartbroken.
“It is like being an actor in my own film,” he explains. “I wanted to run away from my daily life and travel to a fantasy land, where I could chase my wildest dreams. The idea behind the track, although metaphorically written, was to go settle somewhere where I can escape my pain and surrender myself to my new reality.”
The cover art was also designed to visually express what the songwriter was feeling at the time.
In ‘Hollywood Hills’, Nicholas sings, “Running through the halls of this heartbreak motel, yes, I took a turn off this highway to hell. Packed my bags, hoping this will pass, it’s a supersonic one-way ride to the Hollywood hills.”
“I love these lyrics,” he says, “because it captures the essence of what I was feeling at that point in time brilliantly.
Nicholas wanted to metaphorically express that inside the walls of his heart, I was ‘running’ through his emotions and heartbreak. The word ‘motel’ symbolises that this is a temporary space, growing and healing through time and spaces. Nicholas packs his bags with faith of better days and the realisation that he is never going back.
Although Nicholas uses his songwriting as a catharsis, expressing what’s in his heart and mind (at the same time learning from the process), he also hopes that it will speak to people’s hearts.
He says, “Maybe somewhere out there is someone who can relate to me, who feels the same as I do and who had a similar life experience. It makes the journey less lonely.”
Moreover, Nicholas’ desire is for the song to build onto the success of ‘Someone New’, and that he too will learn and grow with that success.
He explains, “I am blessed to be able to share my journey and have the public witness my journey. Ultimately, I’d like the public to grow with me because that gives my journey a purpose and meaning. To me, that is the greatest gift one can give to society.”
The third single in the trilogy is already complete and will be released later this year. The sound of this track is completely different to the previous tracks and is sonic depiction of where he is now emotionally.
Nicholas adds, “Personally, I am extremely excited for that release because it is a sound I’ve always wanted to work with.”
Going forward, the artist’s desire is to collaborate with different producers and deliver a more diverse sound to the market. If all goes according to plan, he might just drop an EP.
When asked what makes him different to other musicians, Nicholas concludes, “I don’t like comparing myself to other artists, because everyone is on their own journey. I have a lot of respect for that. I write from personal experiences and if another artist is writing about their experiences, who am I to compare our journey?”
“What I can add is that every aspect of the product that I put out into the market has been carefully thought through. It is multi-faceted, and it has been put there for a reason. There is a hidden meaning behind it and it reflects where I am at, what I am going through, what I am feeling and where I see myself going forward.”
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