American singer-songwriter Mike Posner’s childhood dream was to become an astronaut, but by the time he grew up and became a teenager, he was captivated by music. So, his journey took a different route.
The 23-year-old shared his stories with The Jakarta Post and some other journalists before he took to the stage at the recent Java Soulnation Festival 2011. “I wanted to make music since I was 13. That’s what I want to do,” he said.
Posner’s music is a mix of dance and pop with a dose of hip-hop. His first encounter with hip-hop began early, when he was aged nine. He said he and his friends somehow stumbled upon instrumental music and later tried to rap with it. That moment inspired him to make beats, so he started producing it.
“I taught myself and also learned from other people,” he said when asked how he gained the skills to develop his beats.
Posner was very relaxed, stretching his legs on the couch, just before the interview began. During the interview, the soft-spoken singer often giggled when recounting his early career, paused for a while, grinned, and cracked some jokes with us, while we, on the other hand, were a bit anxious to see the clock tick by, as the interview was only scheduled for 10 minutes.
Don’t get me wrong. The gentle personality he showed during the interview was a complete contrast to his energetic stage performance. That evening was a blast for him and his Jakarta fans. He created a real party for the audience, delivering a soulful voice and bouncing performance.
Posner did not waste a single second from the moment he stepped onto the stage. He belted out “Please Don’t Go”, his second single, which quickly enlivened the fully packed stadium.
The audience, who mostly sang along with him, became even more enthralled when he sang his third single “Bow Chicka Wow Wow”. He also showed that he was not only a singer, but a whole-hearted stage entertainer. He carried a big brown teddy bear that thrilled the audience, and played a piano and percussion to add more color to his gig.
During the show, the calm and relaxed man I had met some hours before, walked, ran and jumped from one side of the stage to the other, as if he never ran out of energy. The audience only calmed down for a while when he sat down at the piano to sing the slow and romantic tune “Falling”. Looking at the crowd, who began to sing along, and screamed with hysteria during the following songs, Posner looked amazed and said:
“Listen, you have no idea how much it means to me. I have found thousands of new family members,” he said. When the audience begged him to stay longer by shouting for more, he called them, “The most amazing crowd ever”.
Posner has won the hearts of many with his Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 single “Cooler than Me”, “Please Don’t Go” and “Bow Chicka Wow Wow” featuring Lil Wayne. Those songs are on his first album, 31 Minutes to Takeoff, released in 2010. Among all of his songs, “Please Don’t Go” occupies a special place in his heart.
“It was the first song I recorded in the real studio. Every song before, I had recorded in my bedroom. I mean, this is a very special song for me. [It’s] a kind of a benchmark in my life,” he said.
The inspiration for the lyrics of the song, he said, came from his own experience. He said his travel schedule in his life has sometimes made it difficult for him to establish a long-term relationship.
“A relationship that I wish could last for decades, or years, or months, maybe ends in just a few weeks or is only allowed to last one night. And that’s not always a good thing,” he said.
The path to dedicating his life to music was not as easy as some people might think. Like many other musicians, he struggled to reassure his family that he had chosen the right path.
Posner, who attended Duke University in North Carolina, recalled a dilemma when he was in the final week of his junior year and all the major US record labels wanted to sign him, requiring him to fly to New York City.
“I had a meeting on a Thursday, but I had an exam the next day. My parents got wind of it and told me I couldn’t go. But I went, anyway,” he said, grinning.
He said no matter how much he tried to persuade his parents, they cared more about his grades at the end of the semester. So, he aimed to convince them with good grades.
“I graduated with pretty good marks, so they couldn’t complain,” said the graduate of sociology and a certificate holder in markets and management.
Posner acknowledged that his penchant for hip-hop music has had a powerful influence on his songs. He called himself: “Your favorite rapper’s favorite singer”. When asked about his role models on stage, he said there were so many musicians who inspired him, but his favorite one was American rock band The Killers.
Developing his own distinctive sound is something he strives for in order to make himself a better musician. He said he wanted to make music that sounded like nobody else’s.
“I do what I do better,” said the party-lover who will, however, dutifully skip a party if he has a show the following day.
Music may have become a way of life for him. Posner said he has prepared 65 new songs to date and is waiting until his record label tells him to stop and pick some of them.
He did not miss a second when asked about his wildest dream. With a firm tone, he answered, “Outer space”.
