Sean Kennedy Interview by Carol Wright Photographer: Adam Brett Schnee
While other high school sophomores were doing homework and studying for finals, Sean Kennedy was busy creating an album. Hailing from New York, this singer-songwriter is continuously coming out with new music like a true professional. His newest album, The One, finds Kennedy singing about crushes and first love the way only a teenager can. With his songwriting skills and strong work ethic, we’re sure 2020 is going to be his year.
When did singing become a passion of yours? Growing up, I always loved music. I discovered songwriting when I was in third grade, and I instantly fell in love with it. I had just moved to a new school and I wrote about everything in my life. You’re a sophomore in high school and have already released your second album. Do you think growing up in this time of social media and technological innovations has made it easier for you to get your music out there? Yes, totally. Almost all of my discography was recorded in my home studio, and growing up in this age of technology made it so easy to learn how to do everything on my own. Social media has also made it really easy to share my work and build a presence outside of school and my hometown. For people still discovering your music, how would you describe your sound in three words? I would say that my music varies a 15
lot, consisting of big pop songs, laidback ballads, and chill acoustics.
about love and the fascination of a person, while at the same time it’s my best effort yet.
What’s your songwriting process?
Now that we’re in this time of being at home, have you been working on new music?
I tend to start with a melody or a single line, and build off of it, however, I’ve been writing to track a lot recently. Tell us a bit about the title track “The One”. How long did it take for you to create and why did it seem fitting to be the title track? I wrote “The One” a month before the record was mastered. It was a very last-minute song. Unlike my last album, I was having a lot of difficulty figuring out what the title would be, and I also felt like there was something missing on the record. I came up with the title “The One” by looking through the lyrics of all my songs, and I noticed that phrase was mentioned a handful of times, so I wrote a song from it. I thought it was a great title because it means a few things; I think it signifies that the album is
Yes, it’s all I’ve been doing! The spring tends to be very busy between school and sports, for me. Now I’ve really had a ton of free time to work on new music, and I already have around 35 demos for the next record. Who are some of your music inspirations? Taylor Swift has always been a huge inspiration for me. I also love Conan Gray, Madison Beer, and Dua Lipa. Jack Antonoff is one of my favorite producers. What advice do you have for aspiring singers? I would tell them to stay true to themselves and to get as involved in the music-making process as possible.
