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This was one of the many reasons that she’d wanted to work with him. Obviously his possible connection to her grandfather was another one. She still hadn’t gathered the nerve to ask him about the man in the picture with her dad, but she was pretty sure she was ready to broach another subject that she’d been apprehensive about. Not because she was scared of what his reaction might be, as Chase had been nothing but supportive. She thought that her hesitation stemmed from the fact that for the first time this album was going to be her. She’d always written and co-written her music, but it was always to fulfill someone else’s vision. This was her. For better or worse.
Taking a deep breath she announced. “I have a new song that I think I want to be my first single.”
Chase swiveled in his chair so that he was facing her.
When he didn’t say anything, she continued, “Last night I had a moment and it inspired an idea. I don’t have a lot of personal experience in love and relationships but I know that’s what I want to explore. That’s the theme, the concept I want to build the album around. I think it is the most universal subject.”
“It is,” Chase agreed.
“So I was thinking maybe I could interview people that are in relationships and maybe even include snippets of the interviews in the music videos for the album. I want it to be a cohesive flow. And have a visual theme that connects each track. I started working on something that I think is the anchor this morning. I have the chorus and bridge.”
She closed her eyes and let herself go back to last night on the couch. Then opening her mouth she started singing and gave herself over to the emotion that she’d felt last night.
“If I could I would, I would live, live in the moment, the moment I knew, I knew it would always be you.
“When you look at me, time stands still. My heart suspends, lost in the thrill. Your eyes hold me captive, a prisoner of desire. My body lights up, heated by your fire.
“If I could I would, I would live, live in the moment, the moment I knew, I knew it would always be you.”
When she opened her eyes she saw Chase staring at her and she immediately felt the need to defend herself. “I know it’s not traditional country, but—”
“I’ve been working on a track that you have to hear,” Chase interrupted, not addressing her statement. “It’s for another artist, but you have to hear it,” he enthused as he started scrolling through a different pro tools session and clicked on a file named KBtrackthree.
Music filled the studio and goosebumps rose on Ginny’s arms. It was eerie how the melody fit what she had written perfectly. Inspiration was bursting inside of her and when the music stopped playing she said, “Play it again.”
He did and this time she began singing. Chase harmonized with her on the chorus. She freestyled a verse and grabbed her notebook to jot down what she’d come up with.
They spent the next two hours writing, playing the music back, writing and playing the music back over and over. When they finished the second verse and put all the pieces together, Chase played the track back from the beginning and she sang what they’d created. She held the final note until the music ended. When it was over she sat back and they stared at each other. This was a moment, not like the one she’d shared with Dax, but it was significant. This was the moment that she lived for creatively. The moment that you know you’ve created magic.
“Get in the booth. Let’s lay this down while it’s fresh.” Chase put his headphones on and started adjusting the levels.
She’d been in this session for over eight hours but as she stood to go get the track down she felt energized. A buzz of excitement vibrated through her as she stood in front of the mic and inhaled deeply before giving herself over completely to the song. She didn’t just sing the words, she lived them.
Unlike the first song they’d worked on, where she’d done take after take, when she finished the first run through Chase told her to come out of the booth. When she did he cued it up and they listened to it together. It was strange to share something so personal, but that was the music that resonated with people. That was the music that she loved as a fan and she knew her fans loved.
“What do you think? Do you think it’s strong enough to be the first single?” First singles had so much riding on them. They either hooked people or not. A successful first single made the difference between the masses hearing your album or it ending up in the black hole of obscurity.
Chase leaned back in his chair and ran his hands through his hair. “I think I need to make a phone call.”
“A phone call?” Ginny repeated.
“Yeah, to Karina Black. That was her song.”
“Seriously? Karina Black…?” Ginny couldn’t believe it.
She was a huge Karina Black fan. A few years back Karina, a pop star at the time, had totally changed her image. She’d transformed into this raw, real artist and songwriter. It was exactly what Ginny was trying to do now and Karina had pulled it off flawlessly.
It had always been Ginny’s dream to work with Karina Black someday, but she’d never approached her because Shane had been Karina’s manager when she’d started out too and they had not parted on good terms. Every time she’d brought up her desire to contact Karina, to possibly collaborate, Shane had shot her down and painted Karina as a diva that was impossible to work with.
The last thing she would ever want was for Karina Black to think that she’d stolen one of her songs. The music industry, whether it was pop, rock, country, R&B or rap was a small community. Crossovers happened all the time. Nelly and Tim McGraw. Jason Aldean and Ludacris. Snoop Dog and Willie Nelson. Aerosmith and Run DMC. Garth Brooks and KISS. Elton John and Eminem. The list went on and on.
Stealing someone’s song was something that artists took seriously. She would never do that to someone, even if that person wasn’t one of her idols. There was no way she would sacrifice her reputation for a song, even if it was magic. “No. Don’t call her. It’s fine. I don’t need it.”
Chase leveled her with his stare. “It’s not about needing it, that song is yours. I knew it as soon as you sang me the chorus. Karina has had the music for a month now and I know she likes it, but she hasn’t written anything for it. Let me send her what we recorded.”
“Are you sure?” Chase was obviously someone that deserved to be trusted. But it was hard to dismiss all of the things Shane had told her over the years about Karina. Ginny did not want to get on the megastar’s bad side.
“Yes,” he assured her. Then perhaps sensing Ginny’s uncertainty continued, “Karina’s one of the coolest, most down-to-earth people that I’ve ever met. And more than anything she loves music. It’s in her soul. When she hears this, she’ll hear that this is your song.”
