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Enraptured by his colorful sophomore album, The Drama, we just had to get the full scope from pop artist Spencer Sutherland. Read on to hear his quests to write the next "Sugar" by Maroon 5, embody Elvis' stage presence, and find the best cup of coffee in every state. 

Hey Spencer! Thanks for making the time. To start: I think you have one of the world's hardest professions, being an artist. So my question is always, why do you do what you do? You're definitely very good at it, but were you and your creative journey ever pulled somewhere else? Or was it always music and no other options? 

Spencer Sutherland: Yeah, as cliche as it sounds, it's always, always been music. In second grade, we did a class assignment of what you want to be when you grow up, and even then I legitimately wanted to be a singer. I had a Brian from the Backstreet Boys hat on and the same shirt he had on in the album cover. I didn't have another plan. It wasn't like, well, maybe I'll go to college instead. Obviously thank God it worked out. I also dove into acting and basically anything entertainment related. If I can do music and acting that's so rad. But yeah, it's always been music or bust, for sure. 

Well, you know, Backstreet Boys was not the sort of style guide to your music life that I was thinking of, but you know, so be it. Was your family supportive? 

Yeah, they were and are. I did shows in my living room and everything. They were very supportive of it, even just the music they subjected me to. One summer on the way to the pool, me and my mom listened to the best of the Beach Boys, and then the next summer we did the best of Bowie. My parents were always playing stuff like Counting Crows, and it’s through them that I also started listening to Elvis. My white suburban dad from Columbus, Ohio also loved DMX, so I was exposed to so many different things musically. 

When I realized I was different from a lot of kids, my parents were supportive of me leaning into that. When I was nine we went to see School of Rock, and afterwards I was like, we have to start a band. They go, “that's weird.” And I said, “I don't think so, I'm gonna do a band.” I remember realizing that was the first time I was like, “oh okay, I'm a little different.” It was a really pivotal moment.

Yeah, I love that. It sounds like you had a fun journey. Not everyone does, so I'm glad it that it sounds like you’ve got amazing parents who spoiled you with good music. 

That's the best gift your family can give you. I think they're the best. Even like entertainment in general – movies and comedians – and stuff like that, they're really cool about it. 

Did you do any theater or anything in school? Were you serious about acting? 

Yeah I did the high school plays and musicals, and show choir. I also played some sports in high school, but you know as you get closer to being a junior and senior, you had to choose one, because you had to spend so much time after school doing it. And so I ended up choosing theater. 

When did you start writing songs? 

I actually didn't write my first song until I was like, 20, which is pretty crazy. I didn’t take it seriously for a long time cause I was doing theater and show choir. In my senior year of high school, I learned how to play guitar and started playing around town in Columbus at different restaurants and clubs. When I was about to graduate, everyone else had their college plans, and I kind of made a rough plan to go away to university and last minute bailed. It was then I wrote a song called “Hey Girl.” That was the first song I ever wrote, it’s pretty crazy.

Well, I will say this, listening to your music does not betray that fact you have great compositional maturity, which made me feel like you'd been doing this since you were a kid. 

I bet it's been a similar amount of time, because probably for the last 10 years I was doing 10 sessions a week and writing at least two songs a day. I was running all over Los Angeles, and all over Nashville just learning how to write pop songs. I was so hungry to figure out how to write “Sugar” by Maroon Five. That's a perfect pop song. How do I write that? And then, a few years ago, I looked at my Spotify and looked at the music I was making, and realized I'm making super bubblegum pop music, but I'm listening to Elton John and Billy Joel and Poison. There was a disconnect there. So I started diving into more of what I love and embodying that more in my own music. 

I love that you, like all great storytellers, kind of jumped the shark. I know you're doing this sound and resurgence of great classical composition that now feels so native to you, and so comfortable, but you almost described it as a difficult pivot. So what made you make the move, or did you think there was a sort of archetype of success that you needed to manifest? Or how did that come about? 

Yeah, it’s a pivot and initially it was extremely difficult. But it feels like it’s from a past life because everything came so naturally, and because I love the music. You know how someone can tell you what you should be doing. Like I can look at an artist and be like, don't do this, or write something that sounds like Adele, or write something for TikTok. Everyone can tell you to do something, but you won’t do it until you really believe in it yourself. The music I’ve been making now, especially on The Drama, feels like Spencer Sutherland because I’ve chosen it. 

I have to also really credit social media, and I never thought I'd say that because I fought social media for a long time, thinking I didn’t need it. Then I saw more and more artists on TikTok and finally gave in. For a year I didn’t have much success on the platform, and then I shared a clip of me singing “What’s Up” by 4 Non Blondes from a radio interview. I wasn’t singing in my full voice cause that song isn’t really in my register, but the next day I woke up and the clip had gone viral. I was like, whoa, the one time I don’t try to go viral, it happens. 

Also for a long time I felt insecure about painting my nails, but people on social media loved it and it gave me confidence in it. Same thing goes with the clothes I was wearing so yeah, social media has really changed things for me and I’m incredibly grateful for it.

Paraphrasing some other artists, I've heard something I really like, which is that the first album is finding your audience. The second album is finding yourself. If that's true, why the fuck did you call it The Drama? 

That’s because, dude, it's unapologetically kind of true. 

So that statement rings true to you?

1,000% the first album was. I found who I am, my sound, my brand, my message. The second album we wrote the songs exactly for the album. We fully went for it. Like, to have a pop record like The Drama can be polarizing, but I couldn't not make it. I’ve been burnt a lot in the industry, like many people have, so a lot of the songs are about that, but they also sound like they’re about heartbreak, or about a person. Life is dramatic so it’s a dramatic story, but I also love that. Get drunk on a Monday night, make love, and then start a fight. Wouldn't you want to laugh and cry at the movie of your life? If there's a movie about my life, I don't want it to be boring, I want it to be Babylon. I want it to represent the adventure that we lived. 

Well said. Do yoga too, though, because your body at some point catches up with you.

I've been told that by my girlfriend! I do a lot of sprinting and I try to get her to come with me at least once a week. 

Yeah, as someone who shook off the vestiges of alpha workouts, believe me, your body will love you for doing yoga as you age. So there's some old man advice for you. So back to the album, I also think editing to create a record is probably one of the more difficult things that an artist does. And I think because singles are so prioritized now, and the internet version of events, and DSPs, and all that kind of stuff artists also have to think about…how did that influence your process? Are you one of those writers that has tons of songs and it's really a tough process to whittle it down, or do you already know the whole plot line, and you're just sort of arranging the songs to fit and create chapters within the album?

For the first album we probably wrote about 50 songs and chose the best 12. For The Drama, we wrote 16 songs and chose the best 14. It’s been cool to do both ways. I've learned that I prefer the second way, like writing for an exact thing. There's a couple songs that we wrote for the vibe that we started that weren't it, so we started over on that same vibe and tried to make something else. But for the most part, we wrote and then filled in the gaps to the story. I'm a writer, so I think I want to keep doing it the second way and writing for a story. If I’m really honest I’m making music because I love to tour like artists did in the 70s and 80s. Make an awesome album, go on tour for two years, make another album. 

What is it about the live show that just draws you? Is it just the immediacy of it? The instant reaction, the sort of ability to co-opt the moment?

Yeah I mean, obviously putting out a record is so fulfilling, but watching streaming numbers isn't like my thing. Don't get me wrong, they look great, the best they ever have and I'm very happy and really grateful, how can I not be? But the thing I really get a kick from is the live show and it’s always been that way. I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve always known how to grab an audience, but all my favorite artists have incredible stage presence. Have you seen videos of Elvis live? Watching him perform is mind blowing, everything gravitates to him. I was obsessed with watching that, and tried to emulate that. It’s also everyone’s second grade dream of being on a stage and having people scream your name. I'm not gonna lie and not say that's the coolest thing ever. Also for my day ones, like really hardcore fans that travel, the shows feel like our thing, which is really cool. I get to talk to them about that at meet and greets and it feels like kismet. 

I also love the bus and I love finding the best coffee shop in every city we go to. I love figuring out how to talk my way into a free workout, which I did at a gym in Denver. Like “hey we’re playing the House of Blues and we’re just looking to work out today,” and that starts a conversation that leads into a free workout and then they’re at the show later that night!

Follow up piece I want to do is going to be about the coffee shops behind the music kind of thing. Are you big into coffee?

My girlfriend is really into espresso, pour overs, and all the accouterments for coffee. I'm a lots of it kind of guy. It’s more caffeine ingestion than anything, but I do appreciate coffee and when that flavor appears elsewhere, like everything from ice creams to like coffee grounds on steaks. I love that flavor and that hint of acidity everywhere. 

My guitarist also has a coffee company and has a bean roaster. It’s crazy dude. He has this app that shows you the best three coffee shops in any city anywhere. You know when you walk into a coffee shop and the people are mean that the coffee is gonna be good. I mean literally stomp on me if you're going to make me a good pour over. 

I think because everyone drinks coffee, or nearly everyone and, and we love kind of those crossover pieces, because it says a lot about you, where you go and why you go there, but it's not necessarily constantly “listen to my music.” We love those kinds of pieces. So if that's also a possibility, we'd love to do that. 

I was just gonna say it off, like, let's talk about this after but we would love to do that. My videographer is a giant coffee head too. 

Let me jam in two last questions. What do you do to cut out, give yourself flowers. Be zen, relax, do something other than music.

I love to go to the gym. I love working out. That's definitely a big one.

So is it lifting for you, or do you do cardio?

Yeah, cardio is the one that makes me feel the best. I do it every single day, and then I lift five times a week. I never listen to music when I’m working out, I only listen to podcasts because it’s the only hour and a half of the day that I’m not doing something music related. 

I’ve also become one of those weird upper shelf tequila people. I love tasting different tequilas with a couple friends that live on my street. 

How do you drink it, on the rocks? 

For sure, yeah. Like that one big rock. I also just love seeing my friends and I’m also a big, big movie fan. But music is most of my life. It really is. And then when I'm not doing music, I watch Rocket Man or Bohemian Rhapsody or an Elvis movie, just to get me pumped up. 

Those are great movies on their own, separate from the amazing performers. Not always the case with music biographies. Last question – Ones To Watch is all about artists putting on other artists. Is there anyone out there that's criminally underrated we got to give a listen to?

Bruno Mars is criminally underrated. We’ve gotta give that guy a chance. I'm kidding. There’s this artist her name's Chloe Wilder, and she's actually opening for me on my tour. It’s like if you took Lana Del Rey and Lizzie McAlpine and put them together. It’s just such a cool vibe. She’s 18 years old but she has an incredible voice and is just a wonderful person on top of it.

Another artist is Madeline The Person, who I've known for a long time. With her it’s just like, what a voice! Those are my two.