Delacey
Finding Flow
“Have hobbies. Have other interests. Do other things that fulfill and inspire you, and you'll write better music,” says rising singer-songwriter-producer Delacey (born Brittany Marie Amaradio). “I have written some of my biggest songs when I've taken time away, lived my life for inspiration, and come back in that frequency.”
Having co-written “New York City” (The Chainsmokers), Platinum-certified “Boyfriend” (Dove Cameron), Gold-certified “Ruin The Friendship” (Demi Lovato), and Diamond-certified/No. 1 Billboard Hot 100-placing “Without Me’ (Halsey), Delacey’s journey started with a passion for musical theater. Beginning on piano at age 5, teacher Darrolyn Fennelly allowed her to play original compositions during lessons and perform them in recitals. Says Delacey, “I'm really grateful because it really did cultivate something inside me that lasted. She gave permission to play and actually enjoy [music].” Cindy Smith was also a pivotal influence. At 10 or 11, Smith insisted that Delacey sing and perform in every musical. “That really stuck with me,” admits Delacey. “It changed the course of my whole life. I don't know if I would have ever sung.”
Moving to Manhattan after graduation, she wrote songs on her guitar nonstop. When an offer came through for a photography job, she knew she couldn’t stay in New York. Back in California, she officially adopted her childhood nickname as her moniker (Delacey), with friend Eddie Park becoming her manager and helping to secure her first publishing deal. Paying just $10,000.00 up front, it landed her first co-writing opportunity, and opened her eyes to songwriting as a profession. “I came home with some of the songs I'd written in New York,” she says. “I had no idea if they were good, but I cried when I wrote them and they were really real to me.”
After placing “New York City” for the Chainsmokers (which she wrote on the trip to Manhattan), her lyricism began to build momentum. A new manager took over from Park and got Delacey into bigger rooms, where she worked hard for five years. “I was getting so many album releases with artists and it was really great, but I was so broke that it felt like I was not legit,” she confesses. “it was hard to believe that I was actually in the industry, even though I definitely was.”
Delacey says she just needs chords and something to say in order to begin her process, and sees herself as a vessel. “I feel like when I write music that it's not me writing it―I become possessed,” she reveals. “If that thing doesn't happen to me, I don't pursue writing it.” She is baffled at the idea of songwriting with A.I. saying, “there’s no heart in that. You're asking your computer to tell you your feelings. I just think that's so sad―generating other people's feelings, collecting them together in such a programmed way. It's so weird. It's so creepy.”
Proud of standing up for herself and getting credit, Delacey feels she brings something unique to songwriting and hopes that she can continue being brave, emphasizing that it remains difficult for women to carve out a space as producers in the music industry.
Her latest project took three years and involved a lot personal and professional challenges. “I cry when I hear most of it still (even though I've heard it a million times) because of what I was going through when I made it,” admits Delacey. “So much of what we do isn't making music. When I was growing up, it was all about making music—but no one heard it. I was just playing it in my bathtub for acoustics, and it was so different than what I make it for now. It's hard to remember that person, but I feel like this album was a lot of me trying to get in touch with her again. I feel like I did that [and] I am really excited for it to be out there and for it to belong to other people.”
2020’s Black Coffee accrued over 32 million Spotify streams for “Cruel Intentions” and 24 million for “The Subway Song.” Delacey’s sophomore solo project, The Girl Has A Dream, is out now.
Contact: Josh Page @ Shorefire Media / [email protected]
Experience Delacey at: delaceymusic.com/
Photo Credit: Lissy Laricchia
