Kendal Conrad is a singer-songwriter from Pennsylvania and she’s strapping up, ready to impact the country-pop music scene with her new single “Car Crash.”
The song is a cold-cutting, strong, therapeutic break-up song with a lot of synths and background elements, that looks back on a relationship that ended without a warning—much like a car crash. She wrote the song based on a previous relationship and how it was affected by outsiders’ thoughts and conversations.
“This song is about how outside speculation and gossip can be disastrous enough to derail a budding relationship. I wrote it from a real-life experience I had,” Conrad explains, “I felt so hurt and broken and at the same time, felt a lot of judgment from everyone.”
Listening to Conrad’s music catalog, one would be surprised to hear how different and unique each one of her songs is. Her last singles, “Stranger Things” and “Better On” both differ in sound and implement how country-pop Conrad can really be; with the clear country influence on the fun track “Stranger Things” and the subtler pop-ballad “Better On.”
“I always try to incorporate both pop and country elements into every song that I do. I love fiddles and banjo and mandolin. But I also love synths and beats. I love storytelling, but I also like repetitive, earworm hooks,” Conrad shares regarding her diverse sound.
“Right now, I’m too pop for country and too country for pop.”
Conrad has been able to share the stage with the likes of Keith Urban and Blake Shelton and although both experiences were great for her, she’s always had her own agenda for her career and hasn’t let any outside influences, such as those performances, affect her creative process.
“I’ve always had a game plan for myself and my career, and no outside influences have really shaped that,” Conrad says, “I think my drive and my ambition and the reason why I make music has always come from a very deep, personal place.”
Celeb Secrets virtually sat down with Kendal Conrad to discuss her new single, “Car Crash,” how her love for live performing influences her writing process, what advice she’d want from Lil Nas X, and much more.
Keep up with Kendal and her music on all social media platforms: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
Read our Q&A with Kendal down below and let us know what you think about “Car Crash” by leaving a reaction or sending us a tweet @celebsecrets.
Celeb Secrets: You last spoke to CS Country in 2019 after the release of “Leader of the Pack” and pre-covid, how has quarantine been for you? How have you been doing?
Kendal Conrad: “Quarantine has forced me to focus on really cultivating my social media and maximizing local gigs. I’ve played a bunch of new places in my area — just because I haven’t been able to travel at all for shows. I’ve been doing a lot of unique partnerships as well, promoting everything from tequila companies to clothing brands. Never thought I’d play as many virtual shows as I have either! So all in all, I’ve tried to take this time to work on other aspects of my career while I wait for in-person opportunities like radio/television visits and bigger shows to come back.”
CS: You’re releasing a new single called Car Crash, can you share with us how this song came to be?
K: “I remember joking with someone about a relationship I had that ended so very abruptly — it felt like we were kind of a car crash. And then I thought… wow, that would make for such a visual lyric. So I took that idea in to a write I had with my mom, Sharen Conrad, and Anthony Gallagher, who produced the track. We wrote it in about 3 hours.”
CS: What inspired the song? What meaning do you hope your listeners will take from it?
K: “This song is about how outside speculation and gossip can be disastrous enough to derail a budding relationship. I wrote it from a real-life experience I had. I felt so hurt and broken and at the same time, felt a lot of judgement from everyone.”
CS: Has covid impacted your creative process as far as recording and studio sessions go? How different is your creative process now, if at all?
K: “My creativity as far as songwriting goes has definitely slowed during COVID. For me, half of the fun in writing songs is getting to put it out into the world and promote it. This year, EVERYTHING is virtual and a lot of the promotion of the song relies on live shows, radio interviews, etc. So I’ve definitely held off recording new music for the time being.”
CS: You’ve released a couple of singles throughout the years and they all have very different sounds. Is that what you’re aiming to do with all your music or do you want to hear your music towards one specific genre?
K: “I always try to incorporate both pop and country elements into every song that I do. I love fiddles and banjo and mandolin. But I also love synths and beats. I love storytelling, but I also like repetitive, earworm hooks. Right now, I’m too pop for country and too country for pop. We’ll see what happens!”
CS: You mentioned having love towards touring and playing your music live more than the desire to get a #1 song. When writing and producing new music, are you thinking about how the songs your making will sound live? Do you take that into consideration when in the recording studio?
K: “DEFINITELY. Leader of the Pack is the fiery anthem. Bodyguard is the power ballad. Stranger Things is the one that makes you dance. Better On cools it down. Come to Your Senses is the feel-good, optimistic number. I love when artists make their show a journey or a story in itself, and they take you along for the ride. That’s what I would love to do someday.”
CS: Are you working on releasing an EP or LP this year? What else can we expect to see from you?
K: “Not an EP yet! Working on recording new music and playing more virtual shows on my Facebook page.”
CS: Since sharing the stage with the likes of Keith Urban and Chris Lane, have those experiences influenced the way you make music and your career in general?
K: “Honestly? Not really haha! I’ve always had a game plan for myself and my career, and no outside influences have really shaped that. I think my drive and my ambition and the reason why I make music has always come from a very deep, personal place.”
CS: What are your next music goals? What do you hope to accomplish in the next 5 years?
K: “I still want to be an opening act on a huge arena tour. At this point, I’d love to be on ANY tour! In the next 5 years, I want to continue to make music that I’m excited about, foster relationships with more brands, and hopefully headline my own tour.”
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CS: Besides singing and songwriting, what other hobbies do you have? What do you enjoy doing?
K: “Eating!!! I am a fan of restaurants, wineries, etc. like people are fans of music artists. I even have a food blog on Instagram @kendalsbites. Will never not love going to the movies or a night in the city.”
CS: If you could sit down and get musical advice from any artist, dead or alive, who would you pick and why?
K: “That’s so tough! I hate giving and taking advice in general — I like to do things for myself and formulate my own opinion. BUT. I’d have to ask Lil Nas X how he blew up on TikTok. Maybe he can give me some pointers!”
CS: We are Celeb Secrets so can you share with us something that your fans wouldn’t know about you?
K: “I never went to prom.”
