Rhode Island-bred Lainey Dionne is an indie pop singer/songwriter from a small town you’ve probably never heard of. A millennial musician that writes “the sort of music that immediately makes you forget that you left a burning oven on” (Verge), her songs paint a picture of the playlist you steal from your trendy friend. Lainey’s 12 song album “Self Titled” is a roller coaster ride of raw, honest emotions that come with toxic and healthy relationships. “I chose ‘Self Titled’ as the name for my album because I am not defined by my exes, they do not represent my name, but they did shape me into the person I am today, through the good and the bad- and now that I’ve come out the other side, I feel entitled to myself again”. Three singles from the album have been nominated and won numerous awards. Foreign fling bop “Hey London" won the International Songwriting Competition, Unsigned Only Competition and was nominated for 2021 NEMA Song of the Year. Dark pop ballad "Skin" won the New England Songwriting Competition and was a semifinalist in the Unsigned Only Competition along with finalist toxic hit ”I Love You To Death”. A New England girl at heart, Lainey is not afraid to speak her mind through her songs. She has one goal- to make you feel, and this album will do just that.
Congratulations on Video Game! It's such a hit and you are so talented! Thank you so much!!! How much space did you give Video Game to breathe in all your efforts to make it just right for you? My friend Hannah and I wrote "Video Game" after I went through a toxic relationship where I felt trapped and controlled. We usually finish a song in about 2 hours but this song definitely took some breathing time. We wanted to make sure we didn't go overboard with the video game references - I game a lot on Xbox and used to play World of Warcraft so I had a bunch of terms I knew I wanted to include in the lyrics, and Hannah doesn't play video games at all so we had a balance. After a few days, we got the song to what I felt was perfectly authentic to what I experienced in the toxic relationship, and also what I envisioned the fantasy of being trapped in a video game would be like. As we were writing it we could see the music video unfold in our minds and hopefully one day there will be a budget to make the music video a reality! On that note, does your sound have to feel just right for you or your fans? So, I don't really like to be boxed in by a genre. If you listen to my album "Self Titled", you'll hear some pop punk songs, AC songs, alt pop, dark pop, singer-songwriter, etc. I know "Video Game" has pop elements but I'm not sure where exactly I'd place it other than it sounds really cool to me! I have these 'aha moments' when I'm writing a song and I know what direction I want the production to go. I find 2-3 songs that match the vibe of what I'm hearing in my head and I give them to my producer Nick Schwarz Productions and he makes it magic. Forging on through obstacles in the process, is there a formula you follow if you feel like you're going in circles with something you want to resolve? I am sent a lot of tracks by various artists or companies to write to. Sometimes I have 'writers burn out' where I just need to step away from a project, reset, and then all of the ideas start free flowing again. Part of the reason why I love co-writing so much is because that rarely happens in a co-write. You are so excited bouncing ideas off of one another that more times than not, you have too many lyrics or melodies. So much to do! So little time! How do you prioritize yours when you release a new single? I have many calendars. One calendar for social media posting schedule, one for outreach to press, playlisting, and other opportunities, one for the specific timeline of that release, and one for meetings with representatives from radio and industry connections. On top of that I have my performance schedule as well. It's tricky, but you just have to stay on top of everything! Where are more and more ears listening to your sound? Based on my Spotify analytics, my top countries are the US, Germany, Spain, Japan, and Brazil. My music has been played in over 100 countries which is insane to think about. Right now, the top country for "Video Game" is Japan! How cool! Gaining more and more fans, who do YOU fan out over? I've been really obsessed with Gracie Abrams and Tommy Lefroy lately! My favorite band of all time is Coldplay though! What social media site are you MOST social on? Instagram! @laineysmusic I would love to hear from you!!! Continue your magic in music!