Oisin may have just made his musical debut with the release of his song “Happy Place” on Friday (July 30), but the 19-year-old is no stranger to influential people in the industry.
The talented pop/R&B singer/songwriter caught the attention of EP Entertainment (Alessia Cara, Sebastian Kole), a couple years back, and has been developing and honing in on his sound along the way. Now, he is ready to share that sound with the world.
Oisin’s dynamic vocals and emotive tone glide effortlessly over a modern pop/R&B production on “Happy Place” and the listener will surely be hooked after one listen — we certainly were!
Our writers sat down (virtually) with Oisin to hear all about his debut single, what he hopes listeners take away, and what is coming next. Keep scrolling to read the full Q&A below and don’t forget to let us know what you think of “Happy Place” by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sending us a tweet at @celebsecrets.
You can connect with Oisin by giving him a follow on Instagram at @oisinnee.
Celeb Secrets: Hi Oisin, thank you for chatting with us! For our readers who may just be getting to know you, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started in music?
Oisin: “I’m 19-years-old and from a town called Letterkenny, which is in the northwest part of Ireland. I’ve been singing for as long as I can remember. I started out in a performing arts school at a young age with dance classes and after a while I moved over to the musical theatre side, which I think brought out my singing voice. I was involved in local productions such as ‘Oliver’ and ‘Caisleáin Óir’ along with various talent shows also. I don’t think I fully put myself out there as a singer until my sister convinced me to post my first YouTube video! It was a cover of ‘Let It Go’ – James Bay. I was extremely nervous posting that first video, but the positive reaction helped me grow some confidence and I felt really encouraged to just keep going with it.”
CS: Who are some of the artists you listened to growing up? How have they inspired you?
O: “Growing up, I was inspired by artists like Adele and Birdy. Although they might have been singing about heartbreak and things I wouldn’t have related to at the time, I was still able to connect with the way they poured their feelings into their songs. Their honesty and raw emotion written into their ballads really made me want to go to my piano and see what I could come up with. I think I was around 15 when I wrote my first song.”
CS: Tell us about “Happy Place.” How did this song come to be and what was that process like?
O: “‘Happy Place’ was written on my first ever trip to LA. It was the last session of the week and we realised that all of the other songs turned out to be slower ballads. We wanted to try something different and create something a bit brighter. We just had fun with it. There was such a nice energy in the room and the writing was really fluid. There’s a video of us all listening back to the song at the end of the session and we’re all bouncing along and smiling. I was pretty ecstatic and trying to take it all in because I hadn’t ever made a song like that.”
CS: What do you hope listeners feel when they listen to “Happy Place?”
O: “I really hope when people are listening they can get a sense of that feel-good energy that was floating around the room in the process of making the song. I think especially after the year the world has had, people are in need of some light in their lives so it feels like the right time to put this song out.”
CS: What else can we expect from Oisin in the near future?
O: “People can expect a lot more music in the future. I can’t wait to share! I’m really excited about hopefully putting together an album one day and I also love the thought of making visuals for my songs!”
CS: Lastly, we are Celeb Secrets, do you have a secret talent that you can share with us?
O: “Not sure if this is a talent but most of the time when I’m petting an animal, I can usually put them to sleep!”
