Happy Monday, readers!
Meet our new Music Monday artist this week, Maggie Szabo.
Maggie Szabo is a soulful Canadian singer from Dundas, Ontario who has won over audiences worldwide with 13 million views on YouTube.
Szabo began making a name for herself following her high school graduation. She moved to Nashville to continue the quest to improve her writing and performing. Her original sound, infused with soulful pop melodies, secured Maggie a record deal with Linus Entertainment in Ontario. Her debut pop album Now Hear Me Out was released in November 2012. All songs were co-written by Maggie, with production by Justin Gray (Joss Stone), Gavin Bradley (Nelly Furtado) and Tanya Leah.
Currently, Maggie is living in Los Angeles and constantly writing, recording, and performing. Last week, her new soulful track “Forgive and Forget” was released online with a music video following. The video stars Szabo in various scenarios. Our favorite had to be the contemporary piece with Vampire Diaries star Chris Brochu 🙂
Celeb Secrets caught up with Maggie Szabo to talk all things music! In our interview, the Canadian singer/songwriter talked about what inspired her to post YouTube videos, her new single “Forgive and Forget,” and what its like living in the United States — make sure to check out the full Q&A below!
For more information on Maggie Szabo, visit her official website at allaboutmaggie.com and follow her on Twitter at @allaboutmaggie.
Celeb Secrets: You won audiences over around the world via YouTube. What inspired you to start posting your videos online?
Maggie Szabo: “I’m from Ontario, Canada and was signed to a record label in Toronto. I had just finished writing my first album and right before we were getting ready to release it, we thought it would be a good idea to post some videos out on YouTube to reach more fans and it ended up just taking off! It was a great way for me to share music, express myself, and reach out to more fans who would potentially go and listen to my original music as well as my covers.”
Celeb Secrets: What’s the craziest comment you’ve received on a video?
Maggie Szabo: “Let’s just say there are a lot of really expressive people commenting on my videos. There are some people who for the past five years post on my stuff every two days and it’s so cute. But for every nice comment there is a negative comment. I can’t remember exactly off the top of my head, but most of the negative comments are like ‘oh my god you’re ugly, you sound terrible’ and I’m like ‘okay thanks. Have a nice day’ (laughs). But you have to learn to expect that kind of stuff when you post videos online.”
Celeb Secrets: How was the transition from graduating high school to moving to Nashville to pursue music?
Maggie Szabo: “It was such a big adjustment but I loved it! I’m from a small town and there is not a lot of stuff going on as music goes. I was able to write songs alone by myself and take singing lessons all while growing up. In Nashville, there are so many opportunities and so many people following their dreams. People hustle every day, whether its writing songs or playing at open mics. Being in Nashville was so inspiring.”
Celeb Secrets: What are your favorite places to go to for local music?
Maggie Szabo: “It’s a very “Nashville” thing, but my favorite place to see local music is The Bluebird Cafe. I’ve performed there a few times, but I would always go to see the songwriters. So many amazing songwriters get together and perform the hits that they’ve written for country’s biggest stars, so it’s a really cool spot to check out local music.”
Celeb Secrets: You recently premiered your music video for your single “Forgive and Forget.” Please tell us more!Â
Maggie Szabo: “I wrote that song shortly after I moved to Los Angeles and I basically just got out of this really crappy situation relationship wise. The best way for me to deal with it was to sit down at my piano and write a song. Later on I started working with producer Lee Miles and he was curious to see what songs I’ve written on my piano. I played ‘Forgive and Forget’ for him and he wound up working on the song with me.
Celeb Secrets: Chris Brochu starred in the music video with you… what was it like working with him?
Maggie Szabo: “I loved working with Chris! He’s such a hard worker. We were both so passionate about this video, but the hardest thing was the choreography. It doesn’t look that intense when you watch it, but for any production you are required to practice things over and over again.  Even though Chris was struggling, he had such a positive attitude. Working with him was way more amazing than I could have ever even imagined.”
Celeb Secrets: If you had to pick one of your songs that your are most proud of, which would it be?
Maggie Szabo: “To be honest, I think it the song I’m most proud of is ‘Forgive and Forget.’ The whole song came from such an honest place.”
Celeb Secrets: We came across this picture of you on Twitter of in a cross-fit competition. Give us the scoop!
Maggie Szabo: “Having a healthy lifestyle is super important to me because it makes me feel good about myself. Making sure I maintain that healthy lifestyle is my addiction and it keeps me away from what I think would be bad addictions. When I first moved to LA, I obviously didn’t know a single person here, so joining a cross-fit gym introduced me to so many new people. At the gym I go to, there are so many people in the industry, so I’m constantly networking and being inspired.”
