Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Matt LeGrand

Pop singer Matt LeGrand is one of music’s most exciting young talents. Since bursting onto the scene, Matt has received countless praise from publications including Huffington Post, Billboard, and RIVAL, and amassed thousands upon thousands of monthly listeners on Spotify.

This past July, Matt dropped the perfect summer song titled “Message in a Bottle”.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to chat with Matt about his career, his new single, and the must-see animated video he just released!

PC: You’ve had a lot of success throughout your career. When you look back, is there a moment that stands out to you?
Matt: I’d say that working with the people that I’ve been able to work with is definitely the most important part of my career so far. The number of people I’ve not only gotten to meet but also be in the same room has been beyond my wildest dreams. My team, the people that make it all happen, are so incredible and deserve the same amount of success that I’ve received and more! Also performing on WGN National TV out of my hometown of Chicago was amazing, too!

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Matt: Faith has played the biggest role in my career; you can’t do much without it. Everything in life takes time. Ideas and visions take time to flesh out through trial and error. If I didn’t have my faith, I would’ve been done the second it got challenging. All the power, passion, sheer love for the game all centers around resilience and faith for me—it’s what makes it all worth it. For that, I can mainly thank the people who raised me and surround me every day for making me a person of faith and the man I am today.

PC: Tell us about “Message in a Bottle” and the inspiration behind the song.
Matt: First of all, “Message in a Bottle” is probably my favorite track on my EP! The song was pitched to me by Bryant Reid, who is the former Senior Vice President of A&R at both LaFace and Atlantic Records. He received the songs from the producing team Dub Shakes and Clayton Williams, who are based in LA. What really got me was how fast it could bring you into a fantasy world! So, we flew out to LA to cut the record.

This song is about the beginnings of a relationship—rushing things or getting anxious that you’re not doing enough…you know all that good stuff! This song is about the intricacies and sometimes false realities that come with being infatuated with a new person! The song is being received really well on streaming platforms, like Spotify! We have surpassed 100K streams thus far.

PC: “Message in a Bottle” is your first animated music video. How did you come up with the initial concept? Did you always plan for this to be your first animated video?
Matt: Bryant Reid was the Creative Executive Producer of the animation short, and he came up with the concept of doing an animation video. He discussed it with me, and I thought it was a great idea. Because of the pandemic, he didn’t want a large gathering of people that you would normally have for a traditional music video. He brought in Viviana Acevedo, a producer at HBO, to work with us. It ultimately became a creative effort from an entire team, from concept to completion…who would’ve guessed? This song can easily bring you into fantasy land, and we wanted to reflect that in the video! Looks like people are loving it as it has well over 135,000 views now! If you haven’t taken a look at the animation video, it’s streaming now on YouTube.

PC: How did you come up with your alter ego Matthieu?
Matt: Bryant also came up with the character Matthieu. His vision was to have Matt LeGrand live vicariously through his alter ego Matthieu. I want to bring my fans in on a little secret: my name is Matthieu.

PC: Of all the music that you’ve released, if you had to pick one song that best encompasses who you are as an artist, which would it be and why?
Matt: I’d say the song “All Good” because that was the first time I connected with every bit of a song. It was so easy for me to record and give it my all because of the perfect combination of reflecting an experience exactly into a song. Music is the best way for me to express my emotions and feelings!

PC: As we look ahead to the rest of 2021, what does the year hold for you?
Matt: I’m looking forward to getting on stage with things opening back up now, working towards a full-length album, and a possible tour. I also have another video coming out soon that is a really cool acoustic studio session of one of my songs on the EP!

To keep up with Matt, follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Spotify, and Apple Music.