Laleh Talks Adam Lambert Collab “Welcome To The Show” & Writing With Demi Lovato

Mike Wass | March 31, 2016 2:00 pm
Adam & Laleh's "Welcome To The Show"
Adam Lambert teams up with Swedish singer Laleh for "Welcome To The Show."

While Laleh seemingly emerged out of the pop ether to nab a feature on Adam Lambert’s new single “Welcome To The Show,” she ranks as one of Europe’s most accomplished artist/producers with three Swedish Grammys and five mega-successful albums to her credit. The in-demand songsmith moved to Los Angeles a couple of years ago on the advice of pop maestro Max Martin and has been crafting hits for other artists ever since — that is when she’s not releasing her own music via Island Records.

I recently caught up with the “Some Die Young” singer to ask about her surprise collaboration and she raved about her glamorous duet partner. “Adam is an artist. This a song for an artist,” she says. “He’s funny, he’s cute and nice. He has that glitter in his eyes. He’s a nice person. All of the people I’ve been working with this last year were nice. I want to like the person I’m working with.”

However, Laleh didn’t write the song specifically with Adam in mind. “I never think about who’s going to sing the song,” the Swede reveals. “The song has a will of its own. I’m trying to follow that. I don’t want to impose on that.” She didn’t even know that she would be featured on the finished version. “I think it was Adam and Max’s idea,” she remembers. “Adam does these amazing add-ons. He has such an amazing voice. My job as a vocalist on that song was to keep the chorus in line and then give him the freedom to express himself.”

“That’s why it felt natural,” the Boom diva continues. “He’s such a good vocalist. I was keeping the chorus stable and then he could sing out, which he does so well.” So, will there be a video and additional performances? (The song had its live debut on American Idol). “We don’t know yet,” she admits. “We just did this as a fun thing. It was just chemistry and then stuff happened.” Adam isn’t the only pop star to benefit from Laleh’s midas touch. She also co-wrote three of the most personal songs on Demi Lovato’s Confident LP, including current single “Stone Cold.”

“Demi has so much inside of her,” Laleh says of her collaborator. “What I did is I listened. I listened to her. I think I knew she had so much inside of her. I listened and I was interested in what she really wanted.” They then crafted the songs together. “She has a sensibility for words and melodies. She can tell right away if something is genuine or not. It’s interesting to work with her in that sense. It’s a sensitivity that she has. It was a really fun experience to write with her. We literally were sitting in the room writing together. It was very hands on.”

Laleh and Demi were brought together by her mentor. “I met Demi through Max Martin. I had already started ‘Yes’ — just an idea for it. It wasn’t finished. Then he heard it and was like, ‘let me go get Demi.’ Then when we finished the song together.” Not that she landed the gig through good connections alone. “You have to kind of have the good ideas. You have to have the good songs. It’s very important. It doesn’t matter who you know.”

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