[INTERVIEW] Robert O’Connor Question and Answer Session

Welcome, guys! Irish singer/songwriter Robert O’Connor has returned with his brand new single No Second Chances, premiered here exclusively and quite different than his previous track You Found Me.

No Second Chances is set to release on August 17th and I wanted you all to get to know him better before then. Luckily I was given an opportunity to ask some questions of him; here he discusses what inspired this single, his musical influences and working with Lana Del Rey in future projects – check it out below!

Your new single, “No Second Chances,” will be released on August 17th – can you share what inspired this song?

It’s a break-up song – the first verse represents pre-break-up, while verse two follows after break-up and asks whether “can we come back together again”. And verse eight ends with despairing feeling as there’s no one better in the world for them despite any shortcomings of relationship. The chorus acknowledges “this relationship has come to an end but I don’t feel ready to let go”. I’ve always found it incredible how quickly life can change from bedside to street – and back again – just by changing your environment or the people around you – and I find this idea fascinating. Four years ago, I wrote the song and can barely recall writing it; everything came so fast and simultaneously that melody and lyrics emerged all at the same time – something which seldom happens with me. “Initially I didn’t plan for it to be a country song; initially I imagined creating a big pop ballad reminiscent of late ’90s artists like Savage Garden; later, I tried switching up the melody so it would work as dance track; neither worked; however, country records have long been my passion and once I returned to singing my original melody as though for a country record, that became obvious and this couldn’t possibly go any other way.”

Growing up with music was part of your everyday experience – what inspired you to pursue a music career?

Since as long as I can remember, music was an integral part of my life. Sitting beside the record player, I would play my parent’s records – Abba, Bon Jovi, The Bangles and Blondie among many more – was something that brought much joy into my life. At that time, my life was ideal: no TV watching was allowed and instead, as I became older I devoted all of my free time and attention to music: listening to records, reading the liner notes and enjoying every bit of it that came my way. At five, my mom signed me up for stage school. Although they pushed us a lot there, I enjoyed performing there; but it wasn’t until eight when I took keyboard lessons that I realized how much more enjoyable that experience was than dancing or drama classes. There was no pressure, it felt less competitive, and it provided pure enjoyment for me. My family moved house often when I was growing up, and whenever we relocated I formed bands with other kids in each neighbourhood I lived. As their leader I would organize performances at each house where we lived and arrange get-togethers so we could perform. At 16 I began having difficulty staying focused in school – all I could think about was music! I knew music was my purpose in life and sought help from a vocal coach to see if singing could be something I was capable of doing alone, being quite shy myself. Once they gave their approval I quickly made demos before writing my own songs!