Will Melanie Meriney be the Opening Act™ at Audacy’s (formerly Radio.com) annual concert at the Hollywood Bowl?

Donna Block
5 min readSep 15, 2021

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Nashville-based country pop artist that has been featured on CMT, Billboard, Aircheck, & GAC. Been hustling for 10 yrs, ready 4 her break!

VOTE HERE.

The big break:

Will Melanie Meriney be the Opening Act™ at Audacy‘s (formerly Radio.com) annual concert at the Hollywood Bowl? The previous winner opened for Taylor Swift, Lizzo, Billie Eilish, and more.

In addition to performing at the sold out concert alongside industry superstars, the Opening Act will receive: their own private dressing room, a ton of exposure on the radio, a meet and greet with the other artists, and $10,000!

Performing at the Hollywood Bowl has been a dream of mine since I was little. I was born in Los Angeles, and it would be a full circle moment to win Opening Act and get a chance to sing on such a symbolic stage!

Q&A

What do you enjoy most about being a musician?

The challenge! This definitely isn’t an A to B career and takes creativity, passion, and hard work to get to where you want to be. I love pushing myself to be better and knowing that there’s always room for growth and room to be inspired!

Which musician would you like to collaborate with?

I would love to collaborate with Shania Twain! She’s a legend and the reason I got into music back in the day! Nobody has set the records she has for female artistry with the worldwide staying power and it would be the greatest honor to work with her.

If you were the next Opening Act, what would you do with $10,000?

I would put it towards a new album! I’ve been writing a ton of songs lately that I would love to take into the studio and produce out.

Melanie Meriney — “Lifeboat” (Official Video)

How do you feel this song can be applied to life — accepting yourself & your actions — and how empowering this is?

“Lifeboat” to me is about vices. When faced with a situation or emotions you don’t want to deal with, it’s easy to seek reprieve in someone or something else. What we don’t always accept at first, but inevitably find out later, is that these reprieves are temporary and don’t take care of the issue at hand. So, our choice is either to indulge that false feeling of escape or to face our issues head on.

Once we recognize our flaws and our vices, we are able to actively decide if we want to enable them. In this way, I think “Lifeboat” can be empowering. It’s about holding yourself up to a mirror and really evaluating your choices. It’s only after the singer does this that she has the opportunity to move in a different direction. I think acceptance is the first step.

Melanie Meriney — “Flame” (Official Music Video)

What is the song’s backstory?

“Flame” is one of those songs that came to me because I have had experiences that are very similar to the narrator. I know a lot of people who are able to relate to not being able to let go of a love even when they have seemingly already moved on. It’s a look into the mind of someone who feels both vulnerable and hopeful, wishing she could read the mind of the person she still cares for, but careful not to wish for too much.

Melanie Meriney — The Rolling Stones “Honkytonk Women” cover

Melanie Meriney — “Damn Good Story” (Official Music Video)

“Damn Good Story.” What inspired the writing of the single?

Krista Angelucci, Chelsea Summers, and I were in the writing room talking about past summer crushes and how sometimes the fun of having those crushes is the fact that you knew it wasn’t going to last past the summer. There’s something enticing about love that is fleeting and I think that’s what we wanted to encapsulate in the song. It was never gonna be forever, but he’s gonna make a damn good story someday.

Melanie Meriney — “Cool Girl” (Official Music Video)

A conversation with co-writer Krista Angelucci about Gillian Flynn’s suspense novel, Gone Girl, inspired the writing of “Cool Girl.” What stood out in Flynn’s characters that led to the writing at a songwriter’s festival?

The concept for “Cool Girl” came from Flynn’s character Amy who describes how she enticed her future husband into marrying her. While admitting an actual “cool girl” doesn’t really exist, she describes how pretending to be the ideal woman makes guys believe that such a girl is possible. She describes the “cool girl” as being “hot and understanding” and likes “everything he likes and doesn’t ever complain.” Krista and I just found this to be pretty humorous and decided to write a song around this concept of a cool girl, because c’mon guys, who doesn’t dream of a unicorn?

Melanie Meriney — “Sober You” (Official Music Video)

You cowrote the song with Krista Angelucci and AJ Kross — does working with friends help you to express your true self in the lyrics?

I love cowriting with people I’m most comfortable with, because that’s when you get the best, most honest songs. Krista and AJ are not only two of my best friends here in Nashville, but are also extremely talented artists and writers. It’s fun to work with them because we all know our strengths and we get to weave the best of our skills into something really cool.

Lifeboat” and “Sober You” — using someone or allowing yourself to be used — song similarities?

Very interesting comparison! I actually didn’t even think about that, but I guess they are very similar! While “Lifeboat” talks more about a friends with benefits kind of situation, “Sober You” walks a bit more on the unrequited love side of things- she wants so badly to have the kind of love he has for the girl he lost, but knows that as long as he is in love with this other girl, she’ll never have that with him. It’s more of a “shoulder to lean on” strictly friends situation, even though the narrator wants more.

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