Mallory Johnson on Her 'Huge Move to Music City': 'It's Really Cool to Be Surrounded by Your People'
Five years after moving to Nashville to pursue a country music career in the states, singer/songwriter Mallory Johnson says every day can still feel like a beautiful surprise.
"Coming from a small town, Newfoundland, Canada, and then making this huge move to Music City was actually kind of a Cinderella moment for me in a way," says Johnson, 32, in a recent interview with PEOPLE mere days before the release of her debut full-length album Surprise Party. "It's a town where you walk in any room and you're all in the music industry and nobody thinks twice about it. It's just the most creative, welcoming, cool atmosphere. It's just really cool to be surrounded by your people."
And it's those people that have held the hand of the CCMA-nominated artist through every curve of her career thus far, some of which have been somewhat hard to steer through.
"As an independent artist, it definitely can be a huge struggle and a huge challenge to not just create music, but to be able to promote the music," she says. "There have been a lot of nos, but no's can be beautiful, I think. I think it makes the yeses and the victories so much more special."
Apryl Stead Mallory Johnson
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Her life of little surprises certainly inspired her new single, which she wrote alongside Carli Kennedy and Julie Kennedy.
"I wanted a song that was hopeful and was sentimental and made people smile, but also made people cry," says Johnson, who toured with her family's band starting at the age of 11. "I wanted a song that kind of gave you a hug when you listen to it."
And thus came "Surprise Party."
"I remember scrolling through my notes app and I found this line that said, 'I hope somebody throws you a surprise party,' and that hit me so hard," she remembers. "I knew that is it. We had to write this song about wishing somebody well, because how beautiful is that? Without you knowing, somebody went out of their way to plan this extravagant event to celebrate you and honor you and fill a room full of people you love just to see you smile when you walk through the door."
It certainly creates a blissful visual.
"I just really want everyone to experience that," continues Johnson, who will play Nashville's iconic Bluebird Café come November. "I think it's so special and you feel so loved and so appreciated."
Apryl Stead Mallory Johnson
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Soon, it became evident to Johnson and her team that "Surprise Party" was not only a song craving to be created but also a song that would end up pulling the entirety of the 12-song project together.
"I wanted to write a song that kind of wrapped the project in a pretty bow, and 'Surprise Party' did exactly that," she says of her debut full-length album, which was produced by Grammy and Oscar award-nominated producer Kent Wells. "It felt very serendipitous. The whole album kind of fell into place. A lot of the songs that I had already brought to the table for the project had celebratory undertones to them."
Included on the album is Johnson's recent Billboard-charting single "Married" and her sure-to-be-a-hit cut "Where the Good Things Are."
"That's one song on the album that kind of has pieces of all of our stories in there," explains Johnson of the song she wrote alongside Krystan Bellows and Ryan Larkins. "It's kind of similar to 'Surprise Party' where you're just looking for the good things. It's always just this heartwarming moment in my live show."
Apryl Stead Mallory Johnson
Celebrating her life in the states has come even easier knowing that she has Canadian counterparts alongside her over here, including country music artists such as Tenille Arts.
"She is one of my best friends," says Johnson of the "Somebody Like That" hitmaker. "I lean on her all the time."
She jokingly adds, "My couch is her second bed. We've spent a lot of girls' nights drinking wine and venting and leaning on each other in different ways. She's been so special to me, and it's just really cool to see her star rise and just see that success for her because it also makes your dreams seem more attainable as well."
