This is an I Heart Podcast. Guaranteed Human. You've saved me. There was a radio presenter in Australia, and I didn't know of him at the time, and he stumbled upon my EP it is what it is. And he messaged me on Twitter, like, out of the blue one night, and it was hard for him to get through some of the songs, because it felt like I wrote those songs at a time that he needed to hear them. And he just thanked me so much for writing that EP, and that's like all that John Whiter can hope for is for listeners to connect to our music. I'm Lynn Hoffman, and this is the Music Saved Me Podcast, the show where we dig deep into the stories behind the healing powers of music. On this episode, we're excited to welcome Demi Michelle, an award-winning pop and country songwriter from Pittsburgh, PA. Demi's passion for songwriting and storytelling has a deep connection to the heart and soul of many in her community, and she is a true testament to the healing power of music. Demi, welcome to the show. Thank you so much for having me. How are you? I am doing fantastic. Thank you, and I have my first question. I don't want to lay it on pretty heavy, but we usually don't have a ton of time. So my first question to you is, tell us why you want your voice to be heard and why music in your opinion saves so many of us. Oh my goodness. Well, I think for me personally, music has been my way of expressing myself, and from a young age I started as a classical pianist. And so in that time, I didn't have words. I only had my music, and I would turn to my piano music all the time to the point where I would play my pieces when I was practicing and rehearsing for recitals, but also just times when I had to sit down and just get my emotions out and just improvise. And I felt like music through my piano music was a way from me to express myself and process my emotions. And now as a songwriter, it's even more than that because I'm able to use my voice and speak through my lyrics and combine all that with the music and the storytelling that I love so much from music. And I think music has the ability to save so many because it is a human personal language. And I know for me personally there have been so many times in my life where I was just going about my day, and I needed a song, and I would just stumble upon the song that I needed so desperately at that time. And it just gave me peace and it gave me the understanding that I wasn't alone, and there are others who are experiencing the same things as me. And so I feel like many of us, if not all of us, have experienced that at one point or another. Can you give me an idea for an example, what could you have been going through in your day exactly, or maybe not exactly, but similar, and what song did you help to get through that moment? Yeah, I have a perfect example for this. So I'm not sure if you know the song, Homecoming Queen by Kelsi Bellorini. Oh, yes. But it's one of my favorite country songs. I actually recorded my own rendition because it's so special to me. And at that time, the song is basically about how on the outside you can look all part together. Like a Homecoming Queen, like she's like all done up, she's like wearing her heels, and I'm like everybody thinks she's living the life, right? She has nothing going on. What people don't know is what's going on behind closed doors when the curtain comes down, you know, she's dealing with stuff too. And I always tried so hard, though, my whole life to not let anyone know that I was going through difficult things, because I don't want to be a burden on others. I've always been someone to just deal with things on my own. And so on the outside, a lot of people could look at me and go, oh, she's like, she has the best life. I think going on, that's challenging, but that wasn't the truth. And when I heard that song, I cried the first time I heard it, because I was like, oh, my goodness, I literally feel like Kelsi wrote this song for me. And I've had such a strong attachment to that song. I ended up recording my own version because that song definitely was there for me at a time I needed it. Well, with that said, do you do believe that music has therapeutic healing powers? 100%, absolutely, absolutely, for sure. Now, can you talk a little bit about some of your specific songs that you feel have touched others in that similar healing way? Oh, my goodness. Wow. I feel like it's so hard to pick one just because I feel like we all really took music in different ways. And it's on that I connect to someone else may not in the other way around. So I'm not sure if there's like a single song. I would say a lot of people automatically go to that one because it's such an individualistic experience. And I think that's what's so beautiful about music is a songwriter, a writer, a song, put it out there. And 1000 people can hear it and I hope I'll have different connections to that song based on their own personal experience. So I think it is very rooted in personal experience. So I'm not sure if like any specific ones are coming to mind at the moment. Well, have you been there and witnessed people hearing your music for the first time who may not be necessarily going through a great time in their life and seeing that effect that your song had on them? Yeah, no, for sure. And even to like back when I was doing piano, I've had multiple people like after I did a recital. So multiple people have come up to me and told me that they were crying at that plane. And when I was so young, I started at age 10. So when I was that young, I didn't fully understand. I was like, I'm just playing notes. Like how is that making you cry? But then like I was like, I got older. I really recognize that like music has the ability to really resonate. And for my songwriting, specifically, there is one song that I wrote that people have definitely connected to, which is a new or one is called Kind Heart. And it was the lead single off my new album, Here Me Out. That's coming out on October 23rd August 23rd. Sorry, August 23rd. And that song I basically wrote. It was a very vulnerable period in my life where I felt like I was, I always see myself as a kind person. I like to give, I don't expect anything back. And I realized that being kind all the time does have challenges. If you keep giving and giving and no one's reciprocating or if people are taking advantage of your kindness, like that's not a fun thing to experience. And people always say that kindness doesn't cost anything and being nice goes a long way with that spirit, true. But at the same time, I feel like it's hard having a kind heart, which is what the song is about. And when I started to perform that one and when I released it, I got so many messages from people saying like, oh my gosh, that song, I get retenated so much. Because when we're kind, we don't really show on the outside the challenges that we're facing inside because we just want to be that person. So that's an example of what I'm on. Wow, you talk like you're writing a song as you speak. It's just wonderful. What does it mean to you personally? I know it must seem weird because it's like an out of body thing when someone comes up to you and like, oh my god. But what really do you feel when someone tells you how much your music means to them and how it got them through a tough time? It's just a real feeling. And I think that's the greatest reward that a songwriter could ever have. Yes, it's fun to get award nominations and to win awards and to play shows and to do interviews. It's all very fun. I started writing music because I needed to process my emotions and I needed to tell my story. And it's very difficult for me to just talk to someone about what I'm going through. So I'm writing has always been my way of speaking and ways that I can't just through words. And so that's why I wrote my music. And when I would get messages and hear from people that they connect just for my music and then send something to them or it felt, they felt seen through listening to my music. It's just so wild to me because nowadays, I mean, you can upload a song and Spotify and it's available worldwide. And I've heard comments from people from all over the world, one coming to mind is there was a radio presenter in Australia. And I didn't know if I'm at the time and he stumbled upon my EP it is what it is. And he messaged me on Twitter like out of the blue one night and basically said like this very, very long, long message about it. He came across my EP and it was hard for him to get through some of the songs because it felt like I wrote those songs at a time that he needed to hear them. And he just thanked me so much for writing that EP. And I was just staring at my phone like I can hopefully register this message because it's just so surreal. And that's like all of the songwriter can hope for is for listeners to connect to our music. That's so true. It's kind of like you're superhero and that's your superpower. Right, exactly. Yeah, for sure. Or they have one one final question for you. It's a little bit dark. Well, it depends on how you interpret it. But what do you what do you think that the world would be today if there was no music? Oh my goodness. I don't even want to think about that. That's definitely like a dystopia like oh my goodness. I truly have no idea. It would be a dark world. I don't know. I just imagine there's music all around like you're driving in the car. You have music on you walk into a shop to go like dress shopping and then there's music playing like I can't imagine a life without music. And I think just reflecting on that I think just for everyone all around the world. I think that we can appreciate music more. I know sometimes it can be seen as this thing in the background and that's very true many instances. But if you stop and think about it, the world would be so silent without music. And songs would not be able to heal songwriters and listeners if we didn't have music. And so I think that it's such a calming part of life that sometimes it can be like lost over or just looked upon it. So that's just part of life. But if you really think about it, something very special and very meaningful to so many. And so I truly can't imagine a world without music. Dr. Demi Michelle, that's what you're new nickname. Described in her bio as heartfelt, charismatic and authentic. And I get to tell you that that really couldn't be more true talking with you has been. Oh, thank you. Total delight. Your new album comes out August 24th. Just let everybody know and it's called hear me out. Yeah. So it's coming in. Yeah. So hear me out. It's an East Rock album August 23rd. It's also coming out the weekend. I'm traveling to Atlanta for the International Singer Song Raiders Association Awards. I have five nominations for that. I'm also performing at the after party. Jessica Beaver, fun weekend. This album has been in the making for a while. And I feel like I finally discovered who I want to be at the songwriter and what I want to say. And I'm using my voice in this album, like never before, which is why it's called hear me out. And so I hope everyone loves that one as well. Well, thank you so much, Demi, for coming on music, save me and sharing your stories and continue to spread joy through your words and your music and best of luck with that party and your nominations and the album release. And hopefully you'll come back and talk to us when you're like so huge that we won't even know how to get a hold of you. Well, thank you so much. It's been an honor of being here. This is an I Heart Podcast. Guaranteed Human.
