Siri Elton
Photo credit: Gunn Gravdal Elton
Norwegian pop artist Siri Elton revealed her latest single “Lips Locked” on August 28th.
Co-written with artist/songwriter ELVIRA and Ole Georg Pedersen, the new single was inspired by the excitement of being in your 20's and experiencing love and life.
Elton introduced her music to the world with her debut project Breaking Glass in 2019. With a great number of streams on Spotify, the Norwegian artist is painting catchy pop records influenced by artists like Ariana Grande, Dua Lipa and Camila Cabello.
“Lips Locked” is now available everywhere.
Photo credit: Gunn Gravdal Elton
Introduce yourself - what's your story?
I am from Odda, Norway - a small city on the west side of the country, at the end of a fjord with lots of mountains. I grew up with my mom, dad and little brother. My mom has always been interested in music. She sang in a band when she was younger, and has been making concerts and musicals since 2005 - and fun fact, when i was a baby she sang everything to me instead of talking - so I've been around music literally my whole life.
Last year I went to an amazing music school, LIMPI, where I met so many talented people, who are now some of my best friends, songwriters and producers!
How would you define Siri Elton, the artist?
As an artist, I am energetic, honest and playful, with a bit of an attitude. I think my favorite part of her is that she is the more badass side of me, and that I am "allowed" to bring out the more sassy parts (and yes, I am talking about myself in third person now, lol).
"Lips Locked" is your new single - what's the inspiration behind this single?
The song is about the excitement of being in your 20's, wanting to find the right guy - or not the right guy. We wrote this song at a time where I realized that life doesn’t have to be so serious. If it is relationships, fashion, future plans - this is the time to try new things! So Lips Locked reflects the feeling of being in the club and wanting attention just for one night and not necessarily find the love of your life.
When did you start working on "Lips Locked"? Could you describe the songwriting/production process? Who helped you create it?
I made Lips Locked with two of my friends, Elvira Lundahl and Ole Georg Pedersen - amazing songwriters and producer - in November 2019.
It started with me already having the two first lines in the hook, so Elvira startet playing a piano-loop that fit perfectly (it never made the song though), and we pretty much wrote the rest over that. Ole added a bassline and it all went pretty quick from there. That's what I love about working with Elvira, she and I have a really good connection, so the songwriting-process is always so quick and natural. And Ole always knows how to add the best sounds to enhance the vibe in the song.
What do you like the most about this single?
That it is very "me" in every part. A more rhythmic, edgy verse, a melodic and soft pre chorus, and an airy, sexy hook - and the lyrics of course! Oh oh, and the guitar solo!!
What can you tell us about the artwork?
I struggled so much with this!! I had so many ideas, but I knew that I wanted the color to be either dark pink or red. I see colors when I hear songs, and to me Lips Locked is red, so that's what I ended up with. We actually shot the cover in Denmark, in a hotel with amazing stairs, seating areas etc. But you can't really tell after editing.
You are originally from Norway - could you describe the music scene out there?
A lot of the music in Norway is very organic, ironically kind of the opposite from Lips Locked. Usually it's a lot lighter with more organic sounds that goes very well with the nature and energy here, like Aurora, Highasakite and A-ha. But for some reason I've always felt more drawn towards American and British culture, language and music, so when we made Lips Locked we definitely ended up with a more international sound. But of course - we also have amazing artists like Kygo and Alan Walker, who have mixed the light sounds with the electronic.
How does Norway impact the music you are making today?
As I said I lean towards more international sounds, but I am definitely inspired by Norwegian Artists as well! I think there's two musical sides of me where one is a lot closer to home, and I am very exited to show that part of me as well a bit later on.
As an artist, what do you want to accomplish?
This is a very hard question, cause I think every artist has huge dreams and goals they want to accomplish, and I for sure do. But for now, getting to a point where I have a group of people that enjoy my music, where I sell out venues and can headline my own shows, is probably my main goal right now - one step at a time.
What's the hardest part about being an artist? And what is the best part?
Wow. The hardest part is definitely the mental part behind it all. Before releasing Lips Locked I was more nervous than I've ever been, when really it's all just fun! But the whole process of getting people to listen to your music is horrible to me! Promoting myself is actually one of the hardest parts.
The best part is making the music, no doubt! I love being in the studio, writing, singing, making music with friends and like minded people is amazing. But I must say performing and meeting the audience is the best feeling ever.
What major life lesson have you learned so far?
That life isn't one straight line. There's always ups and downs, and you can't take everything so seriously all the time. Everyone is just trying to stay afloat, no one really knows the answer! So "you live and you learn" is really the truth in every aspect of life.
In your opinion, what would make the world a better place?
More love for each other despite sexuality, beliefs, color of our skin or choices we make. And less meat:)
What message do you want to deliver to the world?
That it's okay to live a little! Go for your dreams and what you want, cause you'll regret it if not. So if you're reading this and are between two choices - go for what you want and not what society says is right - if I did that I would never be doing what I do right now. That's for sure.
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