Country Next: Kameron Marlowe

Kameron Marlowe began making a name for himself after he traded out his day job as an auto parts salesman for a career in country music. Born in Kannapolis, North Carolina, the emerging artist received his first sign of encouragement when a talent recruiter invited him to compete on Season 15 of NBC’s The Voice.

On the set of the show, Marlowe became friends with some of his fellow cast-mates, who were from Nashville. After competing on The Voice, he began making trips back and forth from his North Carolina hometown to Nashville and eventually made the permanent move to Music City.

In June of 2019, Marlowe independently released his debut single, “Giving You Up.” The track, which stems from a time when Marlowe was being forced to move on from a relationship with someone whom he thought he was going to marry, has earned over 49 million on-demand streams and counting.

Now, out with his fiery new single “Burn ‘Em All,” it’s no doubt Marlowe’s career is only going to continue to gain steam. The anthemic tune, written with Joey Hyde, Brinley Addington and Aaron Eshuis, is all about letting loose at the end of a long work week. The accompanying video for “Burn ‘Em All,” meanwhile, features Tia Booth of ABC’s The Bachelor and Bachelor In Paradise, and highlights friends coming together at the end of their shifts to meet up at a Friday night bonfire. Directed by Jeff Johnson, and filmed at the Franklin Forge in Franklin, Tenn., the clip for “Burn ‘Em All” also pays tribute to those who are currently working on the frontlines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Country Now recently caught up with Marlowe to find out more about his background, current music, and upcoming plans.

Read on to find out more about Kameron Marlowe in our exclusive Q&A below.

How did you begin a career in country music?

I was working for General Motors for a while, and I would play gigs on the side. I wanted to make some extra cash, so I started posting random stuff on Instagram to try and boost my stuff. Then, I decided to go on The Voice. I got a call one day, randomly, while I was at work. I guess they saw something that I posted on Instagram, and they asked me to be a part of the show. So, I went out to California and spent two months out there. I met a bunch of people from Nashville while I was there, and I wanted to try and figure out how the music industry worked. I didn’t know how I was going to make it or anything like that. But, I knew that I wanted to give it a try. So, I started making my rounds back and forth from home to Nashville, and I began writing songs for people. I ended up getting a house with two roommates, and I started taking meetings with my manager, and everything fell into place from there.

How have you grown since your experience on NBC’s The Voice?

When I was on The Voice, I had not written a song before. I mean, I had written songs but not like a good song, I guess. So, at that time, I didn’t know who I was as an artist or a writer. When I started coming to Nashville, I began to find myself. I began to figure out who I was as an artist and what I wanted to say in my songs.

Did anything about moving to Nashville surprise you?

I think the music industry did. I didn’t know how it worked, so trying to dig-in and understand how everything worked was one of my top priorities and to figure out where I could fit in in this town.

What’s the inspiration behind your debut single, “Giving You Up”? Was it written with anyone in mind?

Yes, I guess you could say that. That song is about a girl that I thought I was going to marry. I had a whole life planned out, at least I thought I did, with her and everything like that. So when it fell through, I just had to get that song out. I didn’t want to show it to anybody, or anything like that. It was just something I felt I needed to write at the time.

Is it ever difficult for you to showcase your vulnerability with fans when singing a song about a personal subject like that?

No. The cool thing about that song is, the more people listen to it, the more messages I receive from it. I get a lot of letters and notes and messages saying how much that song got them out of the same situation. It was like an anthem for them. I thought that was cool. So, being able to be vulnerable with my fans is important to me. I think it’s great that they have a connection to the song.

What about “Burn ‘Em All”? How did that one come about?

I was writing with Joey Hyde, Brinley Addington and Aaron Eshuis, and we were having a tough day. It was a Friday, and we were ready to put the work week behind us. None of us had any ideas, and I think either Brinley or Joey said, ‘What about ‘Burn ‘Em All’?’ None of us knew what that meant. That phrase just came out of nowhere. We were trying to wrap our minds around it. He said, ‘It’s like when you get off of work, and you are ready to have fun and tear it down and burn it out.’ We were like, ‘Oh. Okay.’ So, we started writing toward that. So, the verses came quickly, and the chorus took a minute. Finally, we pieced it all together, and it turned out to be the song that it is.

The music video for “Burn ‘Em All” is dedicated to front-line workers. What was it like filming that video? 

I think it was the hottest day on record in Nashville that day! We decided to film a music video with a humongous bonfire, and it was ridiculously hot outside. It was like 10:00 a.m and already 80 degrees. Then, we were working out of a welding shop, so everything had to do with fire. So while we were doing that welding scene, everybody was sweating. We all had to socially distance, and we told everybody not to take their masks off. We just made sure that we took all the right steps to make sure everybody was safe.

In what ways have you had to shift your creative process during the coronavirus pandemic?

So, we had to adapt as songwriters to Zoom writes. We have been writing over FaceTime or Zoom, or Microsoft Teams, any of those platforms. And, it is almost like we have had to relearn how to write a song. The energy is very different when you’re writing in the room with someone versus writing with them across the screen. I think, as a songwriter, I’ve started to figure it out, in that lane, but I’m ready for in-person writes again. I’ve had a lot of rough writes on Zoom, but I’ve had a couple of good ones that I’m very excited about. One of my favorite songs that I’ve written this year was over Zoom.

You have a few small shows coming up this month. Will those go on as planned?

Yes, and I’m curious to see how these social-distanced shows go. I’m excited to see when we can start taking a step forward if it’s safe enough. I think safety is a top priority, and I want to make sure that everyone is comfortable when they come to the show. I don’t want to overstep or anything like that. So maybe if socially-distanced shows do well and they are doing them safely, we might try to do that. Until everything is back up, I don’t know if we will be going on tour anytime soon.

Aside from music, what kinds of things are you doing to stay busy during this time?

I have been fishing like nobody’s business! (Laughs). I am also starting a hat company. So I am trying to get that underway. I am very excited about that, and I cannot wait for it to be finalized and out to people.

What’s next for you? 

I’m excited for the next song that I’m going to be releasing. It is going to be coming out hopefully soon. I can’t wait for the fans to hear it. I’ve been writing so much over this quarantine, and I’m excited about what we’ve got going forward!

Fans can keep up with Kameron Marlowe on Instagram.