Singer and songwriter AJ Smith, whose upcoming album Illusions of Grandeur, set to come out this fall, is bringing a soulful, charismatic spin on music inspired by the musicians Smith looks up to. Bringing forth big sounds and stadium-shaking tracks, Smith has worked with Jensen Vaughan, whom you may recognize as having worked with the likes of Britney Spears and Madonna, to co-write this upcoming project.
Smith talked with GRAZIA about his upcoming album, tour and where he drew inspiration from to get to this point in his career, and where he goes from here on an ever-increasing trajectory towards triumph.
With the upcoming release of your debut album “Illusions of Grandeur,” what kind of sound can we expect from that record?
I write songs for the dreamers of the world. And a lot of these songs follow that emotional rollercoaster for anyone who dreams big. There are a lot of wildly fun anthems, sonically inspired by artists like Queen, The Eagles, Billy Joel, Fun., Panic! at the Disco, and more – I wanted to create a big stadium-shaking sound for some moments of triumph. And then, just as in life, it can come tumbling down in an instant, seeming like it was all fake, a delusion, forcing us to get more introspective, intimate, and in touch with our emotions.
So across the board, I wanted to create something where every title is tied to this central concept of grandiose dreams. Which means a lot of big sounds. But those massive moments can only be felt if there’s contrast, so a lot of quiet intimate moments as well. I’m one of those weird “plays a lot of instruments” types of people so there’s a lot of strings, piano, guitars, horns, 80s synths, and more. It’s a marrying of these classic stadium rock bands with contemporary sounds. So if that’s your style, I think you’ll love it.
Can you talk a little about how you came to that specific name for the album?
It’s a bit of a play on words. The expression is Delusions of Grandeur, which was what I originally wanted to call it, but that felt a bit dark. But the story behind that starts a long time ago!
I drew my first album cover when I was 8 years old. Discovered my parents cassette tape recorder and it was game over. When I first saw people’s eyes light up seeing live music, I knew I wanted to spread that kind of joy and be on stage. When my mom would turn up the radio because one of her favorite songs came on and she’d sing all the words, I wanted to write that kind of song so that I could bring someone out there that kind of experience and connection to the universe that music seems to have uniquely (at least in my experience).
But even when you’re that sure of what you want to do with your life, it comes with its challenges, moments of self doubt, and it can be a brutally dramatic ride. One of my early “breaks” was catching the ear of Glenn Frey – he invited me and two other students from my songwriting class to band up and open for The Eagles. He brought us backstage when they played MSG, listened to all of our songs and gave incredible feedback, helping me become a stronger writer. I remember I had just gotten my first ever radio interview right before putting out my song “Brooklyn Nights” and I heard the news that Glenn had passed. And it was just shattering. And I knew his family members and people who knew him even better were mourning the loss in a much deeper way, but it really hurt.
I had just lost a mentor and a guide, and immediately I start thinking of all the times I should have reached out but didn’t because I still couldn’t believe how generous he was with his time and I had crazy imposter syndrome, and I mean, he was Glenn Freaking Frey! But he always made time for us. And I just wish the world had had a bit more time with him.
Fast-forward past a ton of humbling experiences trying to make it in music, working three jobs to pay rent and for studio time, sleeping in my car after a show on the road because I couldn’t afford a hotel, crashing down to reality basically, but the dream was still alive. I felt like I didn’t have direction in a lot of ways, but I was still at open mics and playing acoustic sets in the city every week. Learning how to get whole bars who didn’t know my name to sing along to original songs instead of covers.
And in that extremely humbling “have to check my bank account before I buy groceries” moment in my life, I met the most incredible person who, spoiler alert, just said yes when I asked her to marry me. Brianna had also just gone from a high point in her career as a ballet dancer, but was transitioning to musical theater and going on audition after audition, many times not even getting seen because hundreds of people would show up and no matter how early she got there, there was a huge line ahead.
So to a certain extent, we had both had a glimpse of what our dreams could look like and were back starting from ground zero.
She helped give my life purpose again, I started being motivated enough to begin releasing my music, learning how to produce, write more. And eventually I wrote and released a song called “Billy Joel” because her favorite song is “Vienna” and when I met her family for the first time, part of what brought us together was when they asked if I knew any Billy Joel and I went and sat at the piano and we had an amazing sing along late into the night. Well, Billy heard my song. And he shared it, writing to me privately as well. Not only that, but he got it added to the SiriusXM Billy Joel station so I got to hear my music on the radio once more.
And then COVID turned from two weeks into going on two years. But I wasn’t going to let something else knock me back down to a place of despair with no direction. So I wrote. And I did livestreams every week for 6 months as I workshopped my songs. And now I’ve got most of the ones we’ve picked for the album done. I’m dropping the first on Oct. 8. We’ve shot two music videos so far, starring my now-fiancée because she also has had an incredible parallel path leading her to perform in the Broadway musicals Anastasia and An American in Paris…and most recently she acted and danced as one of the Jets in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story which is coming out in December.
So our dreams are still alive and kicking. Despite life handing us new challenges which can make these big dreams feel like a mirage, like an illusion. But when we’ve got each other, we’ve also already got the ace. So maybe I’m not deluded after all.
What was it like to receive such high praises from someone like Billy Joel?
They say never meet your heroes right? Well I was so afraid after putting out a song named after one of mine that he would hate it. But he was so kind and reached back out after he heard it, had it shared on his social media, and got it added to the SiriusXM Billy Joel channel.
This road is so tough sometimes that a little validation can go a long way. And especially because it came right at the top of COVID, any moment of self doubt, or when I’d read that one negative comment out of a hundred, I’d tell myself, “if Billy Joel likes what I’m doing, I must be doing something right” and it really kept me motivated during an otherwise really hard time for a lot of people. So I’m extremely grateful. I’ve expressed that to him as well, but it’s hard to even say how impactful his kind words were on me and my music.
After a long time in social isolation, not able to interact with the public, what are you looking forward to most about going on tour?
Seeing people’s eyes light up when we play a song they love. Hearing people cheer or sing back at us. Driving in the tour van and talking for hours on end with my band mates face to face instead of over zoom. Nerding out with the sound guys during sound check. Hugging my family after my show in Annapolis. Seeing friends in NYC that I haven’t seen in over a year. And most of all, playing a bunch of new, unreleased songs in front of a live crowd because there’s nothing more honest than a person’s facial expression when they hear you play a song they’ve never heard before! That’s how I’ll know if we’re really done with this album!
