Interview with My Crazy Girlfriend: On Beginnings, Debut Album & Tour with Little Mix
My Crazy Girlfriend's story is one of perseverance. Four friends, twins Bennett and Justyn, and ladies Cosmo and Myah Marie had known each other for years. They all eventually collided in L.A (where else, right?) and started building their individual music careers supporting each other however they could. Since cash wasn't flowing in though, they were evicted from the house the four had rented together in the City of Angels. But there were no sad faces as this became the turning point the four friends needed to realize that maybe it was the best idea to work as a unit. And this meant the creation of My Crazy Girlfriend.
Having worked as a group for a while, a friend of them passed an early copy of 'Crazy Stupid Love' (one of the first songs they did as my My Crazy Girlfriend) to someone well-ranked at Capitol Records. This person loved the song, met with the group, and immediately signed them. BOOM! Their lives changed.
Now signed to Capitol Records, My Crazy Girlfriend are currently recording their full-length debut album but have already released a couple of tracks to keep fans' appetite on lock. The #1 Billboard Dance Chart song 'Go F*ck Yourself' was released last year, and the finished and polished version of 'Crazy Stupid Love' followed only two months ago. The latter is already generating significant buzz in the US since the general audience are appreciating MCG's sharp sense of humor, epic hooks and sugary swag.
DirectLyrics recently caught with My Crazy Girlfriend for an exclusive interview where we asked them about their beginnings, their upcoming album, the new single 'Crazy Stupid Love', among other things. If you didn't know, member Myah Marie co-wrote 'Body Ache' for Britney Spears and we just had to inquire her about that too!
THE INTERVIEW
Hi My Crazy Girlfriend! First of all, for those not in the knowing. Why did you decide to name yourself that?
Cosmo:My Crazy Girlfriend was actually a song title! When we were writing our single "Crazy Stupid Love" we had yet to pick a name. We were going through song ideas and threw out My Crazy Girlfriend. Right then and there we were like "Heeeey that's a dope name" and pow! Our name was born.
Your individual music careers made your paths crossed at one point a few years ago. You all began working in music for each other; producing, singing and song writing. You even rented a house together in L.A! When did you realize you could do even cooler things as a group? And, was the adaptation easy?
Justyn: We have all been friends for about 10 years now so we adapted just fine. It actually made it easier to put all of our collective energy into one single project. The place we rented you mention is actually the place we were evicted from, we all lost a lot at once! Jobs, cars, our studio to mention a few. We only had each other to lean on, once we decided to focus on the group it was like magic! We put a song online and it had such an amazing reaction, better than anything we had done individually. That was our first moment of realizing we could do much cooler things as a unit.
Myah Marie, you co-wrote a track on Britney Spears’ last album ‘Britney Jean’. What was your reaction like when you found out Britney was actually recording 'Body Ache' and including it on the album too? And, does the launch of My Crazy Girlfriend mean that you'll put your work with Britney (as writer and background vocalist) on hold?
Myah: I'm a huge fan of Britney, and she's inspired me since "Baby one more time" was released.... So it was an enormous dream come true for her to record a song I co-wrote. It was a definite bucket list item of mine, as she's my fav artist ! When I found out, it was by phone and I literally screamed so loud I probably scared my neighbors (laughs). It was so surreal when I heard her voice singing those lyrics! My Crazy Girlfriend is my top priority and takes up most of my time at the moment, but songwriting is my ultimate passion, so I will always continue to write for other artists!!
You got signed to Capitol Records not too long ago. You've got to tell us how that happened. Who called you?
Bennett: It's crazy because we were at rehearsal getting ready for one of our sunset strip shows and one of the guys we're signed to, DQ, got a call from his manager saying Capitol wanted to meet us! We couldn't believe it! It was such a great feeling. DQ's manager was in a meeting with our now A&R rep Mike Flynn playing records he had and accidentally stopped on our record "Crazy Stupid Love" it wasn't mixed yet so he warned Mike it wasn't finished and he shouldn't be hearing it. Well he instantly loved the record and asked us to come in! Meeting Mike, he totally understood us and our project, a while later we signed a deal!
You've just started in the music business as a group but your sound is very unique already. We like that. Coming up with your sound was natural or did you all sit down to discuss the route of the group and reached a decision?
Myah: Thank you! What's really cool about our group is everything has been so organic. The songs we make are so natural, there was never a discussion, they all just came out in our writing sessions, we love that we have been able to create our own sound and that people are enjoying it.
You released your official first single 'Crazy Stupid Love' last March. We absolutely love the song! The chorus is especially too sweet. What inspired the lyrics?
Cosmo: Crazy Stupid Love is our baby! It's one of the first songs we wrote together for the group. The production started in our bedroom studio than we brought it to another studio to write too. We always start our songs with a concept, DQ threw out Crazy Stupid Love and we instantly loved the idea. We were going through such a hard time then. Our lives were crazy, we felt our situation was stupid, but we were and are in love with what we do. It's such a relatable feeling to be in crazy, stupid love. I think we've all been there at some point.
My Crazy Girlfriend’s choruses are massive. And this was very well proven in your breakthrough song ‘Go F*ck Yourself’. Did you ever think the song would go #1 on Billboard's Dance Club Songs chart?
Bennett: Thanks again. Well it's something we absolutely hoped for! We have a goal board in the studio and Billboard was definitely on there! I just don't think we thought it happened so fast! Such a surreal moment!
You’re currently in the studio recording your full-length debut album. How far are you into the recording process and how is the album shaping up sonically?
Justyn: Yes! Prior to signing to Capitol we had a pretty diverse catalog of songs. We are more than half way done presently, but we are always writing more songs and beating out our earlier songs so it's really filling in the gaps now! Our album will be a lot of fun for sure, a little bit of everything. We blend pop and hip hop, we add some rock elements here and there. Myah showcases her talent on some power ballads, we even have a bit of ska influence.
We know the Armstrong brothers produced ‘Crazy Stupid Love’. But, are other producers scheduled to help you in the recording of your debut album?
Bennett: We collaborate a lot with our team, Richard Vission and David "DQ" Quinones, they co-produced a lot on the album. We also have a song, one of our favorite songs actually called "Raise Hell" and The Eleven produced that.
Do you have a tentative release date yet? Fans don’t want to wait long!
Cosmo: We do not currently have a release date! Don't worry we'll occupy time with lots of shows and other fun things! It'll be worth the wait!
What is one of the newest tracks you’ve recently recorded that you just can't wait fans to hear? And what makes it special?
Myah: Our newest song is "Raise Hell" we recently added it to our show and it's had such a great response. It's a favorite amongst the group and we actually recorded it after we went to the IHeart radio festival, we came back so inspired and had to rush to the studio. We finished the song so fast! We can't wait for everyone to hear it.
Having heard ‘Go F*ck Yourself' and 'Crazy Stupid Love'. It's difficult to imagine hearing My Crazy Girlfriend singing a proper ballad. Will you surprise us?
Bennett: Then you are definitely in for a huge surprise! Myah has an amazing vocal range and she show cases that throughout the album. We have some strong ballads for sure!
It was recently announced that you will get on the road with UK girl group Little Mix for a 20-city tour in the US starting this September. How excited are you to be bringing your music to all those fans in those 20 cities?
Justyn: Crazy excited! You have no idea! That was also another one of our goals, to open up for an act on a tour by the end of the year , and to hear it was Little Mix we were nothing less than ecstatic. We are really looking forward to meeting the girls and playing for their fans!
Are you fans of Little Mix? What are you favourite songs of them?
Cosmo: We are fans! Us girls love "Salute" the video is so good! They look amazing!
You know Little Mix’s Perrie is the fiancée of a One Direction member. You got love for One Direction too right?
Cosmo: Yes, Go Girl! (laughs), Who doesn't love some One Direction?! Their new songs are just way to good. "You and I" and "Story of my life" are fantastic.
What can people expect from a My Crazy Girlfriend live show?
Bennett: People can expect CRAZY energy! We bring a ton of energy to the stage and a lot of crowd interaction! Get ready for a fun time mixers.
What artists/bands have influenced My Crazy Girlfriend?
Myah: We are totally 90's kids and love and adore No Doubt. They are one of our biggest influences. We have a mixture of influences like Jay-Z, Britney Spears, Pharrell is a huge influence and we dream of working with him one day.
What did you do when you heard ‘Crazy Stupid Love’ for the first time on the radio?
Bennett: Screamed! Probably cried, and blew up our social media pages (laughs)
What are My Crazy Girlfriend’s Top 5 songs of the moment?
:Justyn:"Crazy Stupid Love" by us of course!
Sam Smith "Stay"
Magic! "Rude"
Rixton "Me and My Broken Heart"
One Direction "You and I"
It totally changes daily!
Finish the sentence...'You better hold tight 'cause My Crazy Girlfriend is....'
Myah: About to take over the world! Grab your helmets!
Thanks for your time guys! Any last thing you would like to share with our readers at Direct Lyrics?
Justyn: Thank you! Our song "Crazy Stupid Love" is available on iTunes and evo! Keep up with us on twitter @MyCrazyGFmusic and Instagram @MyCrazyGirlfriend