Michael J Woodard knows how to make a first impression.
As a contestant on American Idol, he received a unanimous yes from all three judges after his first audition.
Now Woodard is re-introducing himself as an original artist with his debut EP MJW1 released through Katy Perry’s label, Unsub Records.
On the six track project, featuring “Trouble,” Woodard opens up about “where I’ve been, what I’ve done, and who I am.”
We chatted with the Pop R&B singer-songwriter about the EP, working with Perry, and more!
Excerpt from the podcast:
This EP is kind of like your introduction to everybody. What do you hope people take away from the album about you as an artist?
It was intentional. Again, that’s like my word of the day, but it was very intentional because it wasn’t just a project that we’re putting together to have these songs and have them reach commercial success. Of course, I want to see numbers, who doesn’t, you know what I mean? But, At the same time that did not override what this process was. It had to be intentional for the moment of what I wanted to say when it was released two weeks ago.
I feel like I wanted to give my fans and my supporters an opportunity to grow with me. I wanted them to hear what I was doing in 2021. What I was doing in 2020 with a record like “Face.” I wanted them to have those moments of seeing where I came from, and then let those songs be a little bit of a hint of where we’re going in the future.
I think that it was introductory to me. In a lot of the write ups that people may see about the project and me is the introductory subject matter. I’m glad that that’s getting across because it was really important that I have something put out that just introduces me, some of my taste.
Hopefully, people understand that there’s more to me than just this specific sound. We’re trying to cover all bases here. So I think if there was a time to do that, it would be with my first project. So it was very intentional for sure.
Were you intentional about the track order, and do you recommend people listening to it from front to back?
Yeah, I do. And I’m so glad you took the words right out of my mouth. I probably would have forgot to recommend listening to it from the front to back.
I do want to acquire huge success with my singles, you know, going forward as well, but I consider myself an album’s artist, as well. I think there was so much intention in that tracklist. As soon as I recorded “Hems,” I knew that it was going to be the opener. You know what I mean? When we started doing, putting together the tracklist, I knew that “24 hours” was going to close it. And “Anti You” was going to come after trouble. And I knew that “Trouble” was going to come after “Hems.” You can tell kind of the transition that you hear between them makes so much sense. So it was very intentional. And I think that when I, even when I’m in the studio and other collaborators are talking to me about the project, they’re like, I have to listen to it from front to back all the time, because it really is a body of work that’s different in all the songs. All the songs can live on their own as singles, but there’s a cohesiveness about the project too.
I think that yes, 100 percent I would recommend for people to listen to it from front to back if they don’t do that already in their subconscious. I would really recommend it because it was just as much care as I put into the songs as individuals, I put just as much care into the placement on the project because I want to create amazing bodies of work even going forward, like my albums and this next EP is going to be nuts.
Amelia Cordischi, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Juice Box Press, is an accomplished digital marketing professional with over a decade of experience in media and communications. Her work has been featured in notable publications, including The Boston Globe. A communications graduate of Simmons University in Boston, Amelia served as manager of Simmons College Radio (“The Shark”), where she also launched and co-hosted her radio show, The Find.
In addition to her editorial work, Amelia is an established freelance photographer, with bylines in Blended Magazine and CelebMix, capturing artists and cultural moments across the music and media landscape. Her career began at WCVB-TV’s Chronicle, the ABC affiliate in Boston, where she gained firsthand experience in broadcast journalism and storytelling.
When she’s not taking photos from the photo pit, interviewing emerging artists, or crafting the next Juice Box Press feature, Amelia can be found thrifting and exploring the world of sustainable fashion.