There are probably very few people who are not familiar with 21-year-old Justin Bieber. He is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and record producer whose music and videos are popular worldwide. He released his debut EP, My World, in late 2009, and it was certified platinum in the United States. He also became the first artist to have seven songs from a debut record chart on the Billboard Hot 100. His first full-length studio album, My World 2.0, was released in 2010 and debuted at or near number one in several countries and was certified triple platinum in the United States.
Since then, Justin has traveled to many countries performing his music, and several artists have done covers of his more popular songs. One such artist is Maddie Wilson. This week’s “Video Find of the Week” features the talented Maddie Wilson and her cover of Justin Bieber’s song “The Feeling.” True to her style, Maddie adds a little of her own flair to the song and delivers a flawless rendition. She commented, “This is probably my favorite song off of Justin Bieber’s new album. Plus, this video was SO much fun to create. With every scene I felt like I was in a different universe.” The video was posted to her YouTube channel on 17 December 2015, and as of early January 2016, it has garnered over 19,000 views.
Maddie is fast becoming a music sensation in her own right. For the past few years she has traveled to Nashville, Tennessee, co-writing, performing, and growing as an artist. Her new album titled Lightning Strikes is appropriately titled because all the songs on the album which were written or co-written by Maddie say some very bold things. The album which was released on 30 July 2015 was produced by Brandon Metcalf and crew at Destiny Nashville, and it was mastered by Grammy winner for best album, Tom Coyne. When asked about the album Maddie has commented, “You won’t hear a ton of sugar coating, and in life, I feel like we need to be bold more often.” The description of the album on her official website states:
With ‘Lightning Strikes’ you’ll experience country music in a unique, new and fresh way. Maddie and the producer designed elements of alternative rock, pop and soul into the album to match her style, that so many have come to love with her YouTube covers. The smooth yet fun melodies, along with some quirkiness revealed in her writing, will take your heart and mind to vivid and emotional experiences.
Music has always been a big part of Maddie’s life. She grew up listening to country singing greats such as Michael Martin Murphy, Alabama, and The Oak Ridge Boys. It was the stories that they told in their songs that caused her to fall in love with country music. On her official website she stated:
I’ve found that I absolutely love to write songs. Also, I love adding my own style to cover songs, and you may notice that I sometimes change lyrics in them. I do that because I believe music is a gift from God. I’m nowhere near perfect, but I try my best every day to use my gift the way He would want. In this day and age, it’s hard NOT to hear a song without curse words or an inappropriate meaning. I realize that some of my changed lyrics might not be totally necessary, but my policy is “it’s better to be safe than sorry.”
