Your next Quarantune is here!
Mark Read of A1 has released a new single called “Where Were You (When the World Stopped)” last May 15, Friday and it’s exactly what we need to hear right now.
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A lot of artists have found inspiration during this isolation, creating new songs about love, hope, and timely messages. Mark Read’s newest coronavirus-inspired song spreads the message on how to stay safe in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak. He also highlighted special events gone through from nationwide applaud for frontliners to 100-year old Captain Tom who raised fund in UK. “The human spirit and will are incredible, stronger now than ever before,” he said.
In his power-ballad, Mark has shared how everyone’s grappling with isolation. There’s no denying with Mark’s concern for his fans, from his initiative of auctioning his pre-loved items for the victims of Taal last February, and now, included some of his Filipino fans for his project of sharing short clips of togetherness at home or holding a sign of “Where Were You.”
As for the creation of music, Mark shares that the story behind "Where Were You (When the World Stopped)" was really quite organic and spontaneous, and that he wasn't planning on releasing a new song.
“Like most people I was in lockdown, working from home, connecting with friends and family, when one day a lifelong school friend of mine, Jonathan Rusca, who I haven't seen for years got in touch with me to share some lyrics that he'd written, which is great, but he's a graphic designer, never written a lyric or song in his life and was inspired by the coronavirus pandemic to put pen to paper for the first time. He asked me if I would like to put a melody to them, well, I put an hour aside one day to take a look and I was so inspired by the simplicity and honesty of his lyrics, that within 5-10 minutes the whole melody came to me and I couldn't wait to play him what I'd come up with,” he shared.
When asked how he was doing during this quarantine period, he said that took this time as an opportunity to work on a lot of new projects and collaborations. He’s been working non-stop from writing and producing songs, collaborating with other artists at home, including lots of A1 live at home videos, working on a new YouTube show, but most importantly, looking after his parents.
In just over 24 hours since it was uploaded, “Where Were You (When the World Stopped)” has already entered the iTunes Top 20 in Norway, and received tons of adoration from fans around the world. The song, without a doubt has resonated with lots of people during these uncertain times.
Mark also added that A1 are working on a new album, so that’s something to look forward to.
Mark’s message to his fans:
I've been so touched and inspired by our amazing fans during this time, thank you to everyone who's been reaching out and supporting the band over the years.
For the music video of Where Were You, I invited fans to send in videos of them and their families during the lockdown and I was amazed by the response, I can't wait for everyone to see the video, they're part of the inspiration behind this song, so it was only fitting that they should be a part of the music video too.
Stay safe and hope to see you again soon.
The coronavirus pandemic has made an unprecedented impact not only in the economy but in our lives as well. Millions of our front liners are battling to save lives out there, while some are asked to stay at home to contain and limit the spread of the virus. However, we can’t lose hope, especially now. There might be uncertainties ahead of us, but one of the great things that have happened so far was it fueled creative juices from our artists and songwriters to either create songs about hope, love, and inspirations during this isolation.
Thank you for sharing your music, Mark Read!