Rising songstress and vocal powerhouse Malia Civetz shares her debut single “Broke Boy” via Warner Records. Backed by a bold piano and hard-hitting handclaps, Malia’s traffic-stopping voice takes center stage as she admits, “I love my broke boy…there’s no credit card that’s gonna buy my heart, cuz I gave it all to a broke boy.” Premiered by Paper Magazine, the video vividly brings the song to life with soul and sass. Cruising in a classic car surrounded by “broke boys,” she takes over downtown Los Angeles showing that love doesn’t cost a thing.
Dan Locke:What was your upbringing?
Malia Civetz: I lived in Hawaii until I was five and I credit that place for giving me my love of music and performing because there was always live music everywhere in Hawaii. And then that continued when I moved to Las Vegas because just every performer comes through Las Vegas for a show, so I was really fortunate to be able to see so many incredible entertainers at such a young age and there were plenty of opportunities to perform and sing in different kinds of showrooms, even as a little kid. And so, my upbringing was pretty much just singing and I’m really lucky to have incredibly supportive parents who saw that I had this love of music in me and let me run with it. I know how rare that is and so I’m really appreciative of my parents for letting me live my dreams.
How did you discover music? What are your musical roots?
Mostly I listened to what my parents listened to for years and years and years. So, everything from Stevie Wonder, Earth, Wind & Fire, The Beatles, The Beach Boys. My dad loved Jimmy Buffet, so I credit my humor in music to that influence. My parents introduced me to so much good music – Whitney Houston, Celine Dion. And I spent a lot of time with my grandparents, so I would listen to Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald. I learned a lot from just listening to different kinds of music. And then, when I was in middle school, I branched out and started listening to what was on the radio. I missed pop radio from the time that I was a kid until 2006, so every early 2000s song I had to learn about later.
Before you went to college you performed as a Star of Tomorrow at the Apollo Theater. Were you nervous?
Absolutely! Because I was 13, I think. I had auditioned to sing on the show and I got in. I was singing a song that I had dedicated to my friend and it was just the craziest thing for a 13-year-old to do – to be on a national television show at that age. The audience was super supportive because I was so young and it was just a really incredible experience and it reinforced that this is what I want to do.
How did you end up going to the USC Thornton School of Music?
I actually ended up going to USC because of the acapella group I joined. There was a girl in the group from Vegas and I saw them perform and I fell in love with the soloists in the group. And I said, “I want to be doing whatever they’re doing.” So, I chatted with them after their performance and they said there were a couple of them that were in the Popular Music program at USC and it was a super new idea at the time. There weren’t many pop music schools. It was basically you had to do music theater or jazz or classical. Once I heard about this program, I was like, “OK! This is where I need to be.” And so, I applied and got in. It was an incredible experience because I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing if it weren’t for USC.
Tell me about your performance at The White House for President Obama and the First Lady in 2015?
That was also because of the acapella group that I was in. The group was called the SoCal VoCals and the year before, we had done the ICCA competition, which is literally the competition in Pitch Perfect. Yes, Pitch Perfect is real! We did the competition and we were so happy that we had won and so because of that, we got a bunch of really cool opportunities. One of those opportunities was being asked to sing at The White House for the president and the first lady. It was one of the craziest experiences to get to meet them and sing for them. They have this air of grace and kindness that is completely unmatched. We were all so in awe of how kind they were. It will be an experience that I’ll never forget.
That was actually the second time that I sang for President Obama. When I was 16, he came through Las Vegas to give a speech and they needed someone to sing the National Anthem, so I remember when my mom got the email, I heard a scream come from her office. So, I ran into her office was like, “What? What’s happening? What’s wrong?” And she was just like, “You were just asked to sing the National Anthem to the president of the United States.” And I was like, “What?!” And so, we had this joke when I was 16 that I would say, “It’s nice to meet you. My name’s Malia.” And he was like, “Oh, I have one of those!” And when I met him again at The White House, I was like “Great line!” Yup, there it is. There he is again. I was definitely star-struck both times. He’s so nice. My dad was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and his best friend went to the same high school that he did and so they just started talking like they were old friends. And I was just like, “Oh. Casually my dad is just chatting with the president of the United States.”
How did you end up meeting Ross Golan and J Kash?
Again, it becomes the acapella group. Ross was a member of my college acapella group 15 years before I was, so we actually met at the group’s 20th-anniversary celebration. We were all singing, and he heard my generation of the group sing. And so, he pulled me aside after the performance and was like “Yo! We should chat.” And so, I sent my SoundCloud at the time and he brought me to the company that he’s published with, Warner Chappell. And he introduced me to J Kash shortly after that. They’ve been such instrumental parts of my music career ever since.
How was it to get a publishing deal with Warner Chappell in December of 2016?
It was kind of crazy to me. The deal was offered to me because, once again, the acapella group sang at the BMI Pop Awards. We were asked to sing at the show to honor Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. I was about to graduate, so my head wasn’t really in it and I didn’t really understand what it was that I was singing at until I was literally on stage looking out into the audience. And in the audience, there was Jason Derulo and Taylor Swift and Carole King. And I was going up to sing my solo and I was like “Oh! This is the real deal.” I actually had to turn it on and be myself as an artist instead of being a senior in college that’s ready to graduate. So, I turned it on at the show and really made sure that I was the truest form of myself as an artist. As I was singing, Ryan Press from Warner Chappell was there and so was Ross. Ross had told Ryan about me and he introduced me after the show. And Ryan was like, “Hey, you’re dope! Come into the office sometime soon.” And I was like, “What is happening right now?!”
How did you write the song “Champagne Clouds”?
The inspiration was actually the bottle of champagne that Ross got me when I signed my publishing deal. So, I signed my deal and he brought me this beautiful bottle of Veuve Clicquot Rosé that I actually still have in my bedroom. I’m looking at it right now. So, I had brought it to my friend’s place and we opened the bottle and we were like, “Wow, this is some really really good champagne!” Then we started to write, and we started with the pre-chorus, which was weird. Normally, you start with the chorus of the song. You don’t really start in the middle with the pre. We were trying to figure out what we wanted to sing in the chorus and we went out to the balcony and there was just this beautiful sunset in the sky that reminded me of the color of the Veuve Rosé. And I was like, “Yo. Would ‘Champagne Clouds’ be weird?” And he was like, “I don’t know. Sounds cool. Let’s go for it!”
Ryan Seacrest personally debuted it on his radio show. How did he discover you?
He discovered me through John Ivey, who was the head of iHeartRadio at the time. John Ivey had just had a meeting with J Kash. J Kash, at the time, was just working on brand-new Charlie Puth stuff, right before “Attention” had come out. It was a really cool time for everyone in the Ross/Kash camp. Kash was playing old stuff and John was like, “Hey! So, is there anything you’re excited about?” And Kash was like, “Well, actually, I have this new artist that I’m working with.” And he played John Ivey literally the piano demo of “Champagne Clouds,” so it hadn’t even been fully produced yet. It was just me and piano and John Ivey looked at Kash and said, “I’m going to put this song on the radio.” And he did, which was the craziest way to have a debut single come out.
Taylor Swift loves your work. Have you met her yet?
No, I haven’t met her yet, but it was a crazy discovery to find “Champagne Clouds” on her “Favorite Songs” playlist. That blew me away.
How was it to tour with JoJo?
It was amazing. It was the best possible first tour that I could have ever gone on. The whole team was so amazing, so sweet and kind and really made me feel welcomed. My band and I got to learn so much from Jo and her band. I don’t have enough kind words to say about their whole team.
Digital vs vinyl?
I think they both have their perks. I love sitting down with a glass of wine and listening to a record on a record player, but it’s also nice to have the portability of digital because I have to have music playing wherever I go. Sadly, you can’t pack a record player up and take it with you, so I’m a fan of both.
Can you still Hula?
I’m probably a little rusty. (laughs) But if I had to practice, I could probably whip out some moves.
What type of dog do you have?
I don’t have a dog, but I have a dog nephew that I babysit sometimes and he’s a very sweet Goldendoodle.
You just debuted the single and video for “Broke Boy.” Tell me the backstory of the video. “Broke Boy” maybe the song of the summer.
So, the backstory of the video is that we knew that we didn’t want there to be just one “broke boy.” We wanted to focus on all the different kinds of relationships that you can have and we just wanted it to be a fun party. We wanted to kind of flip the idea of household items and things that represented being broke and take a look at them in a new way. Using bread as bangles and ramen as headphones just to say when you take something and look at it in a different way, you might find something interesting or beautiful that you otherwise wouldn’t have seen if you just took what the item was at face-value and I think that could be applied to the “broke boy.” You know? You might miss out on something amazing if you let a dollar sign stop you from being with somebody.
How was it to sing at the Los Angeles Angels opening game last year, along with the Dodgers, Lakers, Kings and Galaxy?
It’s amazing. I love everybody on the Angels and Dodgers and all of the teams that I’ve sang for over the years. I started singing the National Anthem for the Angels. I think this is my 13th season, and so being able to sing to such a large crowd honestly taught me a lot when I was younger. They’ve become such a family to me and they’ve literally watched me grow up. It’s been really nice being able to come back and sing for them every year.
You joined Barry Manilow at his Vegas residency. How was Vegas to you?
I’m actually from Vegas and it was just an awesome experience to have all those incredible artists in my backyard. Singing with Barry was such an incredible experience and he is such an amazing man. He kind of took me under his wing – had me perform in his show and literally wrote me a letter of recommendation for USC. He knew that I had a bunch of scholarships and work-study positions in order to get by because otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to afford it. And once I moved to LA, he had got me a job at an entertainment management company and he just was one of the most incredible mentors that I could have ever asked for.
How was it performing with the Seattle Symphony?
It was amazing. I love Seattle and I actually performed with a bunch of different symphonies with my composer-conductor friend Steve Hackman. He does these incredible pieces where he mixes pop with classical music in order to show audiences that they can exist together. They’re beautiful pieces of work and I’m really lucky that I get to perform those pieces all over the world in between everything I’m doing for my own artist project. We just did a show in Germany and a show in France. We performed with symphonies all over the world and I’m really lucky that I get to travel and see the world doing what I love.
Are you planning any tours this year?
Fingers crossed! We are still working on all of the specifics so hopefully, we’ll have some information soon.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
I have so many goals! Definitely having released multiple full-length albums, gone on world tours, and I know I want to work in branding with make-up companies to develop my own line, clothing companies and potentially fragrances. I really admire everything that Rihanna has done with Fenty and I would love to find a way to do something along those lines.
Anything you’d like to close with?
For me, music is a safe space so with the creation of “Broke Boy” and with the creation of most of my music, the purpose is to make people happy. The world is kind of a silly place at the moment and has always been. Life can be hard and if I can create a musical break – you know, if my song can bring someone happiness for three minutes – then I feel like I’ve done my job because I just want to give people some sort of release in this crazy world.
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