Madison Cunningham
By: Brenna DeBlasio
Following an exhilarating 2020 Grammy-nomination for her debut album, California based singer-songwriter Madison Cunningham recently released a new project for her fans to enjoy.
The Verve Forecast Records’ artist released “Wednesday” in early November as a collection of song covers that were first posted through her social media platforms.
“A year ago, in 2019, I started just recording a bunch of covers for the purpose of posting them on Instagram and social media; really just as a way to kind of learn other peoples’ songs and stay sharp as a songwriter and performer,” Cunningham said in a Zoom press conference.
The posts’ success encouraged the artist to release the song covers in the form of an EP so listeners could have better access to the music. Cunningham explained she named the EP after the day of the week she had been uploading the recordings to her social media accounts.
The singer acknowledged the project as a way to offer something fresh and fun to audiences without the pressure of having to create original music, admitting her recent struggle with writer’s block.
“I was trying to write and having a bit of a hard time knowing what to write about, and just because it felt like there were so many things going on and I didn’t know how to personalize my own story,” she said. “The four songs that ended up on the EP felt like they were relevant to the time we were in and to this year.”
Cunningham added that she was very mindful in choosing each of the four songs covered on “Wednesday” because she hopes they will bring comfort to her fans in the same way the songs brought comfort to her throughout the pandemic.
The EP, “Wednesday,” follows the success of Cunningham’s debut LP, “Who Are You Now,” which was nominated for Best Americana Album at the 2020 Grammy Awards.
The artist spoke about what an honor the nomination was for her. “I think making the record for the reasons of just making something good just made the nomination feel really special because we weren’t striving for it and it made it such a sort of surprise.”
Cunningham described songwriting as her passion and life’s purpose. She shared how she views each song as its own story and its own opportunity to connect with the listener.
“Hopefully the song is something that they can fit their own lives into. That’s when I feel like you’ve done your job as a song writer, is when people feel like what you took so hard to work on and write and create puts into words something for them,” she said.
Until she is ready to release her next piece of original work, enjoy Cunningham’s take on four carefully chosen cover songs on her EP, “Wednesday,” available now on all music platforms.
Madison Cunningham is scheduled to open for Harry Styles @ Madison Square Garden, Oct. 21 & 22, 2021.
Follow: @madicunningham