Photo by RAW
Singer-songwriter Justine Dorsey has had an exciting year. Her song "Best Worst Day Ever," which she recorded with her sister Kerris, was included in the film Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day featuring Steve Carell and Jennifer Garner. She's also been featured by The Huffington Post, Disney.com, People.com and AllAccess.com, and is currently in the process of recording her second album. We spoke with Justine about her musical upbringing, her upcoming release plan, and the success she's seen through Sonicbids.
How did you get involved in music?
I started singing and performing in musical theater, actually. It's crazy, and I never really realized it, but I learned almost everything I know about performing from doing theater. Now, of course, I'm singing from behind a guitar, and I'm not singing Sondheim’s words, I’m singing mine. But the foundation is still there.
Why did you decide to release your new album a single at a time, each with an accompanying music video?
Well, I think that we really do live in a singles world now. I still buy full albums and so do my friends, but most people tend to buy the singles and leave it at that. Actually, even though I do buy full albums, I still get really into singles. It’s fun to have that slow build-up of a song at a time, and with each release, the feel of the album starts to take shape.
How does this album differ from your previous album and two EPs?
Every project has felt so different. I did my first album I did when I was 13, and I had wanted to be a Disney star, so it was very pop. I only wrote two songs on that album, but what I did write was much mellower, folkier. When I did eventually break off and do my first EP of my own songs, it was more me. It still wasn’t quite the right fit though, so I floated around for a bit. Eventually, I met my label, Unison Music Group, and our first project together was my Under Construction EP, which felt like coming home. It’s been the perfect jumping-off point for my record, which has elements of what we did on Under Construction, but it’s bigger and weirder with more electric guitars and more strange sounds. I’ve seen what I want the album to be more clearly than on any other project.
What was the process of writing "Best Worst Day Ever" like? How does it feel to have one of your songs in a feature film?
The process was a dream, honestly. My sister Kerris is in the movie (she’s on the billboards, which is very distracting and potentially dangerous when you’re driving on the freeway), and Miguel Arteta, the director, asked her if she and I wanted to write a song to put in the movie. He told us we had five days to do it. We had never written "on demand" before, so we were a tad nervous, but we did it. The actual writing was so much fun, too. I normally write alone, so when I’m excited about something I write, like a lyric or a melody that I've just added, I have to celebrate alone. With Kerris, anytime we did something that we were excited about, we high-fived, we danced around. We celebrated it together.
I can’t even describe all the feelings. Disney even put it on the soundtrack, which is insane. I've been getting Snapchats of my friends dancing around to it in the theater.
You've gotten some pretty interesting gigs through Sonicbids. What have been your favorites so far?
Through Sonicbids, I got to play during SXSW for an unsanctioned show, and it was a blast! Seriously, even if you’re not on the official SXSW bill, people listen. They're just roaming around the streets looking for music. It was better than I even expected, and I can’t wait to go back. If you need more reasons, Austin has amazing food. Like, I-had-some-of-the-best-meals-of-my-life-there amazing.
Another great gig I won was a contest through Sonicbids to have one of my songs produced for free by Martin Acosta at HMP Productions in Toronto, Canada. I submitted my song "Mama's Song," and the production was so beautiful that I immediately used Martin's version on my EP, Unsaid. You just never know what talented people Sonicbids will lead you to.
What advice do you have for other Sonicbids artists on getting their music licensed?
Submit, submit, submit. Though some things don’t work out, every once in a while a project will come along that is the perfect fit for you. I actually got one of my songs, "Unsaid," placed on MTV! It was for a reality show called Big Tips Texas, and it was playing when these two best friends were apologizing after a fight. They're running around in their pink tracksuits, saying "I should have never judged you for being with him," and then you hear my voice go, "The words I wanna say to you, will go unsaid."
Where can fans see you next?
Keep an eye on my website and YouTube. My show schedule and the announcements about my singles, along with the videos for the singles, will be there!
