An Open And Candid Conversation With Rising Pop Star Saturn Lane

Posted On September 15, 2020

Samantha Colleran, September 2020

About a week or so before I went back to college, I sat down with Saturn Lane, a former Oneonta student and incredible pop star. She co-wrote Luke Mock’s “Universe” which I’ve talked about on here before. We had a really awesome conversation via Zoom that you can read below!

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SC: Hey!

SL: Hey!

SC: So, I know you from Oneonta, but for those who don’t know you, would you like to give a brief introduction about how and when you got started as a musician and the meaning behind your stage name? I just saw your Instagram post today, so for people who don’t have Instagram I thought it would be cool if you could tell them about Saturn Lane.

SL: Sure! I’ve been singing since I was in a diaper, probably before I could even speak. I started songwriting at eight or nine. I remember I would write in this book that I had and my brother would also be in the room playing video games. I used to be so shy about it, I would look over the couch because I was hiding, and I would never want him to see what I was doing. I thought it was so embarrassing. I started writing songs about boys that I liked in elementary school, they weren’t really good songs but it was something. Today I would describe myself as a pop singer songwriter from New York City, I love all different types of pop; pop dance, pop rock, pop ballads, I’ve honestly always loved that type of music. 

I got the name Saturn Lane from the name of the street I used to live on when I was younger, before I moved. That street holds a lot of value in my family. We made a bunch of friends on Saturn Lane and I started my life there. When I was thinking of stage names I thought of Saturn Lane because it’s kind of artsy, a little weird, it’s spacey, and it holds meaning in my life. When I first chose it I thought people would think it was stupid, but they’ve actually responded pleasantly to it, which I was happy about. 

SC: I love the sentiment behind the name, I think it’s so sweet, and you can definitely see that it holds so much meaning. You can see it in your art too.

SL: Thank you!

SC: You said all types of pop are your favorite. Who are your biggest inspirations lyrically, sound wise, or any inspirations you can think of?

SL: Ooh… okay. There’s so many ways I can answer this. Vocally and musically, Ariana Grande. Vocally, Demi Lovato. Jojo, in terms of singing, I think she’s so good. A lot of the powerhouses inspire me, not that I have a powerhouse voice, but I love listening to them. Miley Cyrus is another musical inspiration, I’ve looked up to her since I was a kid. Bebe Rexha both musically and lyrically, Taylor Swift musically and lyrically, Halsey lyrically, and I do like her music as well. I find newer artists sometimes that I can’t think of when I’m asked about my favorite artists but I just love pop. I’ve heard of a lot of artists, and I’m sure you’ve heard of a lot of the people I look up to.   

SC: I love Ariana Grande. I love Halsey as well, her lyrics are just so poetic. 

SL: For sure, you can tell when a songwriter writes songs or they write, period. It’s so cool. 

SC: Definitely. So, we’re here to actually discuss your single called “Want You Bad”. What’s the story behind it? 

SL: Originally I wrote it under another artist name, two years ago I put it out and then when I changed my artist name to Saturn Lane I wanted to put it under that name so people could find it easier and that way I’m not one person with a bunch of different artist names. 

At the time I wrote it two years ago, I wanted it to be called “Want You Back” but 5 Seconds of Summer had their song “Want You Back” on the radio and I thought to myself ‘Damn, they’re a lot cooler than I am, I won’t even try to go for the same title’! I was trying to think of a play on words that kind of sounds like “Want You Back” and I picked “Want You Bad” even though it isn’t correct grammatically. I wanted it to be playful and fun… the thing is I look like I’m twelve so I wanted to dress up for the music video and look a little older for the first time in my life and I put on a little bit of a persona. Of course I was scared to show my Dad, because, awkward. He got over it eventually.

SC: It’s not that risky! I really liked the video, it looked like it was something fun to shoot. Was it pre COVID?

SL: Oh yeah, yeah. We filmed that video like… two years ago. I remember it was the day before I went back to school for junior year I think. I wish those were still the days. 

SC: Me, too! What do you hope listeners take from the song? Any messages you wanted to convey?

SL: Well, a couple of things. One, it’s okay to be playful and sexy if you feel you want to be that way. In music, I think men have the upper hand a lot, they can sing or rap about whatever they want and it’s okay because they’re the ‘guys’, but when girls do it we get name called and it’s an unfortunate double standard. So yeah, female empowerment for sure! Girls, if you’re out there, do your thing and do what makes you feel happy and confident and you don’t need anyone’s approval. 

My other message… it’s not a super serious song. I usually write songs that are personal and a bit heavier, but “Want You Bad” isn’t one of those songs. This song is one that you put on in the car and just jam out and have a good time with. It’s really just a feel good song. 

SC: I love that. I also love the female empowerment message, it’s so important now more than ever to make sure girls are recognized and heard, especially in the music industry, which is so male dominated. The higher ups are usually men, all the songs on the chart are mostly men. We need artists like you who are paving the way, the Ariana Grandes and the Demi Lovatos who are so body positive and confident in what they do.

SL: Thank you! It’s crazy in music. I read somewhere that 2% of women in music are producers, 12% are songwriters, and I think somewhere around 18%, I can’t remember the exact number, but it was about 18% of women in music are artists on the radio. Even in college, the Music Industry program was pretty much male dominated. I knew maybe ten girls max, and I knew tons of guys. 

SC: Well, I love the idea of female empowerment. It’s so important. Do you have a musical direction you hope to take for future projects? I know you said that “Want You Bad” was a bit more of a fun song. Do you want to stick with that, or do more serious songwriting?

SL: I’m kind of in the middle right now. I love the pop anthems, the super feel good and big energy songs. I also love the songs that make you want to cry, like where you want to go in a bath and turn all the lights off and just be sad. I love both, I really do. I think they’re super awesome in different ways. My end goal, which will be super up and down to get to, is to have a balance of really good happy songs and songs that get you in your feels. It’ll definitely be a challenge but I’m excited. 

SC: That’s awesome. I know some artists will often mask a sad song to sound happy, is that something you’ve ever thought of doing?

SL: I’m trying to think of what I’ve written so far… I think there is a song I’ve written that sounds happy but really isn’t. That’s something I may end up doing because lyrically I tend to write darker lyrics. I think it’s sometimes harder to write happy songs because it’s so easy to get corny super fast. It’s a skill to be able to write in a happy mood that isn’t super cliche. When you’re writing sad songs, you can be super over the top and it’s okay. I would say I’m open to it, I’ve written like it before but I never recorded anything like that.

SC: I know “Want You Bad” was written a couple of years ago, but it’s only recently been released under Saturn Lane. Will this song be on an album or EP in the future? Will there be an album or EP in the future to look forward to?

SL: EP yes, but not anytime soon. I have to figure out what I want the message of the EP to be, I’ve never released an EP before. I’ve been writing since I was eight or nine and I’m 22 now, so about 13 or 14 years I’ve written music. You would think I’d have an EP by now but I never have. Down the line for sure. I’d love to have an album. Would “Want You Bad” be on there? Maybe. It depends on what I’m going for with the EP; if it’s more of a sexy vibe, sure, but if it’s “This is me and all my personal stories”, I don’t think it fits there. It’s something I would come back to in the future. 

SC: You said you’ve been writing for so long and you’re shocked that you don’t have an EP out, but art takes time. Whenever it comes to you I’m sure it’ll be great, I can guarantee that, especially since “Want You Bad” sounds so good right now. 

SL: Thank you so much, I think it’s just one of those things with writing. You write a few lines here and there but you never get a full song. I think that’s what I did for so long, I just wrote like, two lines, four lines, but I never had a full song put together. I have thousands of notes in my phone but none of them are full completed songs. I love songwriting so I’m excited to see if those notes turn into full songs. 

SC: I’ve noticed that a lot with songwriters have all these little ideas and notes that don’t fit together until they get one idea that connects them all together and that idea explodes into an EP or an album. That’ll be exciting to see for your work. 

SL: Thank you so much, I’m excited for it too. I think I’d really like to talk more about mental health in my music, that idea could potentially turn into an EP. 

SC: I’ve noticed that you talk a lot about mental health on your Instagram. Has mental health played a part in any of your released music, is it a message you want to get across on your social media or in your art?

SL: Definitely. I would say with “Want You Bad” not as much, but with most of the other songs I’ve written, they tend to come from that kind of place whether it’s my personal mental health or my friends stories or finding stories online and seeing what people deal with. I think empathy is such an important tool not only as a human, but as a creative, you really want to tap into people’s worlds and help them as much as you can with your art. I draw inspiration from movies sometimes, too. I always say that if I didn’t do music I would want to go into psychology so I try to blend the two together as much as possible. 

SC: That’s awesome. Mental health is something so important to be passionate about, blending it with music is also important. My first thought is the Logic song that was named after the suicide hotline, would you ever do a project like that?

SL: I’d love to, from a personal standpoint that would be the epitome of success. Making a song and talking about these things that I think people need to hear and could benefit from is something I’d love to do. Writing a song about something I wish I had heard when I was younger and trying to navigate through life and going through changes is definitely a goal of mine. I really hope I get to do that one day. 

SC: I feel like mental health is seen as such a taboo thing. Especially in our industry, it’s not really talked about as openly. You’ll see artists doing all these grand tours, then five years later they come out and say things like “Those were some of the worst moments of my life”. It’s just so heartbreaking to hear, and I think having people who are so open and passionate about having that conversation like you is something the industry as a whole really, truly needs. 

SL: Thank you so much. It really is so unfortunate that mental health is taboo because it’s like… it’s not something alien. I don’t get why society made it like that. Everybody has a brain, everybody is subject to something. Even if you have a healthy brain and a perfect life, something can go wrong and you’ll feel a certain way, you know? We’re not robots that don’t have feelings or thoughts, I just don’t get why there was a stigma in the first place.

If I break my foot, no one would question my pain, no one would call me weak or question why I was going to a doctor. It would never happen! But when people say the word ‘therapy’, their voice always drops. It’s like ‘I’m going to *whispers* therapy’. It should be a good thing, it’s like going to the gym, but for your head! You would never say ‘I’m going to the *whispers* gym’ like it’s a big scary word! I have a lot of questions about society sometimes. I really hope by the time I have children or grandkids the world is different with mental health, it’s way more normal than people think and it’s sad that people are ashamed of it. 

SC: It’s so important to talk about these things, like we’re doing right now. I have some older people who read this blog who may see our open conversation and be like ‘Oh my gosh! Mental health’! I hate that it’s so taboo, but having conversations is a great start.

SL: For sure. Not to say when I was younger I never felt ashamed or weird for it, but that’s because I never questioned the stigma. As I got older I thought to myself, ‘Why am I feeling weird about this’? I realized it’s because of what was around me when I was growing up. I think it’s a good thing that a lot of people in positions of power or influence are talking about this more. Even ten years ago, if someone famous was going through something, they would be blasted by the media. They’d be on the front of the tabloid labeled ‘going crazy’ or ‘psychotic’. Now there’s a little bit more of a dialogue about what these things really are versus what people thought they were, you know? I think we’re taking some small steps. 

SC: Combining mental health and music more often is something that would be really, really cool, and I would definitely check out. 

SL: I think a lot of people draw inspiration from art based on things that happen in their own life. I’ve definitely had a lot of relationship experience whether it’s romantic relationships or friendships or even family relationships that are very real and personal, but I also have a lot of personal thoughts and emotions. I think everybody does. Even if you’re the happiest person in the world, you have some struggle in life, some moments of uncertainty or sadness. I think it’s impossible to not have those thoughts at some point in your life, I definitely want to open up a dialogue as best as I can. 

SC: Having music to turn to is the best thing, you can see that the person you look up to or the people you listen to understand and it’s such a nice feeling. I think of that Dear Evan Hansen song [“You Will Be Found”], you know, “you are not alone”. 

SL: Yes! It’s the same thing with makeup and hair! Everybody looks at a celebrity and says ‘Wow they’re so perfect’, ‘They have this or that’, but what people fail to think about a lot of the time is that they have a lot of money towards professional hairstylists and makeup artists and really expensive clothing and shoes. They’re not just so perfect on their own, it’s a whole team who make these celebrities out to be perfect. A lot of people compare themselves to these celebrities, meanwhile they don’t even live their lives like that in reality. It’s the same thing with a perfect brain, it’s not realistic. I want a message in my music and my overall being on this planet to be as honest as possible and show people that they don’t have to hold themselves up to such high standards, because it isn’t fair to yourself. 

SC: I love that so much. Thank you so much for doing this! Where can people find you on social media? Where are you streaming, what platforms are you using regularly?

SL: “Want You Bad” is on a lot of streaming services, but definitely Apple Music and Spotify. If you type in ‘Saturn Lane Want You Bad’ it’ll come up. My Instagram is @saturnlane, Twitter is @saturnlane, Tik Tok is @saturnlane, Facebook is @saturnlanemusic, and my website is saturnlanemusic.com. And the ice cream truck riding by my house gives its approval. 

SC: Perfect way to end the interview. I love “Want You Bad”, I can’t wait to see what the rest of your career entails, and I can’t wait to hear your future releases. 

SL: Awesome, thank you so much for taking the time to do this. I love that we’re both repping our school!

SC: Same! It was great talking to you. 

SL: You too!

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You can listen to “Want You Bad” and watch the video for it below!