UK based singer, actress and reality TV star Megan McKenna appeared at the C2C festival in London for the first time this year. We caught her sets at both the Indigo and in the Barrelhouse on the Saturday afternoon and watched her perform a selection of her own songs, like the Shania Twain-esque, fiery ‘The Good, The Bad and the Bitch’ right through to a Countryfied version of Britney Spears’ ‘Everytime’.
We caught up with her on the Sunday in the press room at the O2 Arena to talk all about it and lots more besides.
Thanks for talking to us today, Megan. Was enjoyed your set at the Indigo on Saturday. You seemed like you were having a lot of fun, did you enjoy it?
I absolutely loved it. I love performing to a crowd – there’s just something about watching people’s faces and watching them react to my songs. It makes me so happy.
You could have heard a pin drop during the performance of ‘Far Cry From Love’, the song you wrote with Beth Nielsen Chapman.
Thank you. I love to sing that song, it’s one of the first real ballads that I ever recorded. I went out to Nashville and wrote with Beth, she taught me so much about writing – I mean, you are learning from the best there is there, right?
When are you heading out to Nashville again next?
I was planning on going out again later this year but the album that we have in the works might be released and that might alter my schedule a little. I’ll be playing shows for the album too, so it will all depend on timings. If I don’t make it out there this year we will definitely go over next year but I’m hoping for a week this year if we can do it.
Have you got a favourite bar on Broadway that you like to go to when you are in Nashville?
I like ‘The Stage’, I also like ‘Tootsies’ right at the top of Broadway – that’s a cool bar. I love it on Broadway but I also like to explore when I’m in Nashville and go out of town a little bit too. I like to hire a car and drive around and see other places too and look at everyone’s cool houses especially! (laughing)
You released a song every week for six months last year – How did you manage that?
I don’t know! (laughing) I literally just went between my home and the studio for all that time! It was a lot of work but I loved doing it. There was pressure in terms of writing the songs and recording and producing them but I wanted to build up my streaming numbers and presence and it worked so well that it got me to the point now where we can look at releasing an album.
How do you choose what songs to play live at events like this when you have that many songs?
Yeah, I know what you mean, it is really hard! Right up until Friday I was thinking about what to play and wondering whether or not to swap in different songs to the ones we’d agreed on. When I play my own shows I’ll have a chance to play a lot more of my songs and there is certainly plenty to choose from! And then when the album comes out there will be even more to choose from!
When is the album due out?
We haven’t got an actual date finalised yet but it will be 100% this year sometime. I’m so excited to be doing that and then there will be a tour off the back of the album release too, which will be so cool.
Have you got a favourite writer you like to collaborate with?
That’s such a hard question. It was a privilege to meet and work with Beth Nielsen Chapman and we’ve become really good friends now, as well. There’s a lady called Emily Phillips that I really enjoy working with and maybe Amy Wadge too, we wrote ‘This’ together which was amazing.
There’s so many people that I’ve been able to write with who are amazing people. Shelly Poole is another fantastic writer that I’ve worked with that I’m grateful for too. It’s lovely to go into the studio and work with so many different and talented people, though, because you get a little something different from each one.
Are you a big Shania Twain fan? How has ‘The Good, the Bad and the Bitch’ not found its way to her yet?
I love Shania Twain! I channeled Shania on that song, definitely! (laughing) I would love to open for her on some of her upcoming shows on the tour! That would be a big deal for me if it happened! That song is one of my favourite ones to perform because everyone can just let themselves go. Don’t get me wrong, I love the emotional songs and the ballads but ‘….The Bitch’ is just such a fun song to perform.
