Country artist Megan Arial recounts in a recent interview with us, how her latest single is based on her personal experience when she entered the Nashville Rising Star open mic competition. Instead of being disappointed with being #41, which would mean she’d be performing at 2 a.m., she took the opportunity to meet her fellow competitors.
What did Megan take away from on her experience? “Sometimes you’re #1 and other times you will be #41. Life is all about the experiences in between.”
The song opens with a laid-back, soothing up and down melody reminiscent of a classic country song. A mix of light percussion, haunting harmonica, and acoustic guitar beautifully creates the feeling you’re out enjoying the sights around you.
But Megan’s bright, angelic voice jolts you out of that vision with her opening lyric of describing someplace she’s been every Tuesday along with a lot of other people waiting for their turn. It’s a mystery where this is headed until Megan’s powerful vocals burst open with the clever lyrics that reveal they’re musicians waiting for their chance on stage.
She assesses her fellow competitors vying for votes from the audience, but in the chorus, Megan’s strong voice really rips with outright passion, reaching wonderful heights. As a result, she drives home the lyrics that they may be “transplant locals, burnouts and hopefuls”, but they’ve paid their dues and are just trying to chase that American dream of believing anyone can be a star.
The electric guitar solo is a brief riffing interlude of bright chords before entering the last chorus. The song winds down instrumentally and with Megan beautifully harmonizing along with the melody. In the end, she affirms with a laugh that this whole thing was fun. Even if you’re #41.
Highly recommended. Megan Arial is definitely an artist to be on your watch list. Her songwriting is savvy, honest, and refreshing, standing out from the typical country music you hear. Megan’s compelling vocals hide a power which is undoubtedly an added bonus that makes them shine.
You can purchase #41 on iTunes and Amazon
Follow Megan on Social Media:
Twitter: @meganashleyA
Facebook: @MeganArial
Instagram: @MeganArial
YouTube: MeganAshleyMusic
