It’s Always a Good Time: CM Interviews Owl City’s Adam Young

What better way to spend a Wednesday night than to perform a Top Billboard Hit on stage for millions of people? Adam Young collaborated with Carly Rae Jepson on their new hit single ‘Good Time’ Wednesday night, tweeting “I’m about to go live on America’s Got Talent. Someone hold me.”

Although this isn’t the first time Owl City has taken over television screens and radio waves, his new album The Midsummer Station is gaining some serious popularity.

Adam’s music has always generated an adventurous vibe, but the songs on his new album carry a newer tone. “It’s a little more grounded in reality,” Adam said. “It’s still left from center, but that’s where my mind goes.”

Adam said the album is quirkier, weird and abstract, but whatever it is, it’s still him. “It has an edge–an undercurrent of a sort of melancholy edge.”

The collaboration with Carly Rae Jepsen on the new album has helped create a new, fun feel for Adam’s album. “It was kind of ironic, because the video shoot was the first time I met her, but I feel like I’ve known her forever,” Adam said. Adam enjoys studying other talents’ voices and knew that Carly was an excellent fit. “I knew how she sounded — how she pronounced her S’s. I knew how she said certain words.”

Dementia, a new song on the album has listeners experiencing a more personal side of Adam. The song appears to be uncovering his past, learning to accept it, understanding it and recovering. “I’m always asking myself, ‘How would my life be different if I made different choices in the past,” Adam questioned. “That’s a pretty common thing for anyone. Everyone loves and everyone loses.”

He recognizes that any previous issues he has faced may drive him nuts, but he has decided to confront them and let them live in the past. “It’ll make me so insane, but I have to deal with it,” Adam said. “My way of writing and dealing with life is by writing music.”

Adam hasn’t always been familiar with big crowds, as he began his interest in music from his small town in Minnesota, but, with the help of the Internet, his talent quickly popularized. “For me it was sort of the irony of getting famous,” Adam said. “I started in my hometown, but I did it online, because sometimes there really is a kind of disconnect.”

Adam’s attempt at college may not have steered him into the typical direction of a young musician, but has certainly given him a reason to find and pursue what he really wanted. “I certainly put in my 1.5 years of community college and unfortunately it didn’t work out, but taking pride in doing something you’re compelled to do is important,” Adam said. “I think it’s about dedication sometimes more than loving what you are doing. The minute you find yourself slacking is a bummer, and if you even feel you should go, that’s reason enough to be there. If you don’t give it a shot you may regret it. So, try everything.”

Adam believes the biggest downfall for young musicians is the easy blinding that comes from the light of fame and fortune.“In the industry, there’s that whole saying you are sort of ‘only as good as your next single,’ and it’s easy to fall into that trap,” Adam said. “You think, ‘I have to outdo what I did.’ It’s a weird crime to try to repeat yourself. So you keep trying new things, and you keep trying to get better and you see it as beating yourself."

With his own fame, Adam has uncovered the truth in his profession. “Just make sure whatever you do is sincere, no matter if you are next door or across the world,” Adam said. “And there’s no better way to process life than by writing music.”