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Bernice Marsala is a Nashville-based artist known for blending Americana, Folk, Rock, Pop, and Alternative influences into a unique and authentic sound. Her latest disco-pop single, "Crazy One," explores themes of self-doubt, emotional frustration, and questioning reality in a world filled with conflicting opinions. Combining thoughtful lyrics with infectious melodies, the song showcases Marsala's ability to merge meaningful storytelling with vibrant pop production.

Song Inspiration: "Crazy One" explores the feeling of questioning your own sanity when surrounded by irrational behavior. What personal experiences or observations inspired this concept?

I've had interactions with a few people in life where they believe something or are saying something that is absolutely nutty and/or irrational to me, and somehow they can't see it. It has occasionally made me ask the question, "Am I the one that has it wrong here? Am I crazy, or…?”

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Behind The Chorus: The chorus, "I can't be the crazy one in the room," is incredibly relatable. Was there a specific moment that sparked this lyric?

When Charles (my co-writer/producer/featured artist on the song) sent me what he had recorded of the music so far in the verses and chorus, a melody came to me while I was listening, and that line just popped into my head with it. It fit so nicely I just knew that was the hook. We ended up tweaking the melody notes slightly before the final cut, but the entire lyrical concept was based around that line.

Disco-Pop Meets Emotion: Your songwriting balances emotional depth with infectious disco-pop energy. How did you approach blending such introspective themes with an upbeat sound?

Most of my lyrics tend to be introspective, but because of that, I realize sometimes I can get a bit long-winded, and that isn't the best for a disco record! So I tried to keep the chorus simple and not fill all the space with words so that the instrument parts had plenty of room to shine.

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Themes Of Self-Doubt: The song touches on themes of emotional gaslighting and self-doubt. Was it important for you to address these experiences through music?

I do like to touch on heavy emotions in my lyrics, but in this case the song was entirely built around the hook lyric. So it was more about following a theme than trying to express inner thoughts and feelings.

The Duet Dynamic: As a duet, "Crazy One" feels like a conversation between opposing perspectives. How did the duet format enhance the storytelling within the song?

That is a very interesting take! The duet format, for me, felt more like it was reinforcing the idea that "I'm not the crazy one," as if you're expressing your frustrations to an ally who is seeing the same things you do. But I like this idea of it being an opposing perspective, and I think that concept can work just as well. Whichever way it resonates with the listener.

Modern-Day Relevance: Lines like "You only see what you want to" and "You never think before you speak" feel particularly relevant in today's social climate. Were current events or modern culture influencing your writing process?

Not consciously, but I can definitely see the connection. I do think that on some level, modern culture encourages people to stay set in their ways by ignoring new information and other perspectives (and tact!). It’s as if they believe feeling strongly enough about something will magically make them right. But this is also a common personality characteristic that I’ve seen on the individual level, and that’s more where my thoughts were while writing this.

Visual Storytelling : The bridge features vivid imagery such as "The lights are on but no one's home." How important is visual storytelling when you're writing lyrics?

It really depends on the song for me. Usually when I incorporate imagery, it remains a theme throughout the song. With this section I was more focused on illustrating what I'm seeing in this person that I'm singing about/to that proves the point that they are "the crazy one" and I'm not. The lights are on but no one's home" is a common metaphor for someone who's physically present but lacks common sense. You've got your head down with both eyes closed, meaning you're choosing not to see what's right in front of you. "You're talking too fast but thinking slow" is another reference to not thinking before you speak.

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Creative Challenges: What was the most challenging aspect of creating "Crazy One," and what part of the song are you personally most proud of?

Since this was a co-write, the process was much more methodical. I don't typically do things in any particular order, but usually when lyrics start to come to me, the melody comes with them (as it did with the line "I can't be the crazy one in the room"), and vice versa. However, since we worked out the melodies together, the bulk of that was done before doing any of the other lyrics. It was different and a bit challenging for me to have to try to phrase things in a way that metrically matched the notes we'd written, because usually I'm putting those things together at the same time and I never have to think about how it fits. I did end up changing or adding a few notes here and there, but ultimately I wrote the words directly to the melodies we had, which is not the way I would typically do it. What I'm most proud of is how quickly the whole thing came together, especially as a co-write. I felt like we worked really well as a team and were both equally invested in the song.

Message To Listeners: For listeners discovering your music through "Crazy One," what message or feeling do you hope stays with them after the song ends?

I hope the song stays stuck in their heads for awhile and puts them in a good mood. Then I hope they come back to it and press "play" over and over again!

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Turn Dreams Into Tracks

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