Exclusive Interview: Mary Desmond Chats Favourite Youtube Covers And More
Whilst she was in the UK earlier this month, we chatted to US Youtube sensation Mary Desmond about her life as a singer-songwriter so far!
From Taylor Swift to Jessie J, Mary Desmond has covered all of your favourite popstars. Now, she's making a name for herself. With over 37,000 subscribers and more than 9 million views on Youtube, she's certainly taking the internet by storm. Her channel consists mainly of covers but there's also original tracks and interviews too.We caught up with Mary backstage before her gig at Sound Control in Manchester. She was performing there as part of ViewMyGig's latest UK tour and definitely impressed the cheering crowd with her incredible vocals.
In the interview, Mary spoke about: her favourite covers, some of her biggest musical influences and whether she’d ever audition for a talent show. Check out Mary's answers to our questions below.
Over the years, you’ve uploaded tons of covers to Youtube. Do you have any particular favourites and are there any that you feel received a particularly great reaction?
"One of my favourites is ‘Brave’ by Sara Bareilles. It was super fun to record and to film and I love it. ‘Just Give Me A Reason’ by P!nk definitely got a good reaction and that was fun to do also."
Do you prefer performing covers or singing your own original songs?
"I think there should be a balance. I like doing originals better than covers because it’s fun to sing my own music that I wrote and connect with it. You can connect with it in a different way than singing someone else’s song but I think both are great."
You've also filmed many original music videos - which has been your favourite to shoot so far?
"For my original ‘Invisible’, we took this 100 year old piano up to the top of the world which is this place in Laguna Beach right by my house. We were carrying it up, it was super heavy and everyone was staring at us because it was so weird to have a piano in the middle of the nowhere. *laughs*"
Can we expect any more original songs like ‘Invisible’ any time soon?
“Definitely, there’s a lot of original material that I have and I’m gonna be releasing an EP later this year to be on the look out for it. It’s going to be all originals.”
How are you finding life on the road as part of the ViewMyGig tour?
“It’s so much fun. I just want to pack my bags and move over to the UK, I love it so much. The other singers are awesome and super talented. I’m really thankful to be on this tour with them.”
And how would you say crowds here in the UK compare to elsewhere in the world?
“I think that there’s a lot more fangirls over here so that just brings up the excitement of having shows. Different countries are different and there’s just a lot of different things about what’s over here versus in America.”
A lot of singers now take the talent show route - is that something you’d ever consider?
"Yeah. I actually have considered it and I’ll see what I do in the future - if it has anything to do with those shows."
Youtube has also helped launch the career of some of the world's biggest stars such as Justin Bieber - how would you say you've benefited from the platform yourself?
"Youtube has definitely helped me a lot. Not just locally but across the world. That’s the reason I’m here, I have some fans over here in the UK that I wouldn’t able to get without Youtube."
Who would you say some of your biggest musical inspirations are?
"I love Taylor Swift so much. I also love John Mayer. I think what’s similar about both of them and why I like them is that just because of the songs they write and yeah, they’re my inspirations."
And if you could have one dream collaboration, with anyone alive or dead, who would you choose?
"It would probably be Taylor Swift. I would say one of my favourite songs by her is ‘The Story Of Us’. I saw her on her ‘Red’ tour, she was awesome. Ed Sheeran opened up for her and they were both so good."
What does the rest of 2015 have in store for Mary Desmond?
"As I said earlier, my EP is being released this year. I also have been cast in a movie called ‘Memphis Sun’ where I play the lead character who tries to commit suicide and through all her struggles, she overcomes them and realises that her dreams are worth fighting for. So there’s a lot going on this year. Definitely more trips back to the UK and that’s all for now."
If you could leave one message for everyone’s supported you on your journey so far, what would it be?
“I would say thanks so, so, so much. You guys are awesome and it just makes me so happy that I have fans and supporters because I love doing this.”
With age firmly on her side, the future is looking very bright for Mary Desmond so make sure you keep her on your radar. Don't forget to subscribe to her Youtube channel here too; you don't want to miss her next videos.
Here at OnePopz, we can’t wait to hear Mary’s new EP later this year. It’ll be great to listen to more of her original tracks and we're looking forward to seeing Mary showcase her acting skills in ‘Memphis Sun’ too.
