We caught up with up and coming songstress Summer Luk, who released her new video today.
Tell us about you new song?
My new song is called “Part of Me” and it is the second song I have released following “I Am A Girl.” I wanted to write about something that is silly and fun and an experience that I laugh whenever I look back. I incorporated a lot of real instruments like horns and saxophone to make it more alive and acoustic.
What inspired it?
The song was inspired by my teenage crush on the actor Chris Evans. I think looking back, having a crush on a good looking actor is not a big deal but at that time it was something I had to hide and suppress because of the culture I was from; openly expressing a liking towards a guy isn’t something that is encouraged. That’s why I wrote about the fear of being labelled boy crazy in the bridge now I just see it as a part of me and there’s really nothing to be ashamed about it.
How was working with the lead actor?
The director sent me about 8 candidates to choose from and before shooting started, I asked to interview the lead actor. His name is David Israeli and during our initial conversation, I wanted to explain what the concept of the video was, the fantasy aspect of it and his role etc… He was really receptive and excited to be part of the project and I was very impressed that 3 weeks before the shoot started, he worked out to bulk up for the role. He was professional and respectful and definitely a silly guy on set, which made it a lot of fun for the long hours. I am very glad that he was also someone who didn’t mind doing a lot of promotion stuff, which I have been teasing on my social media. I think the final cut looks really great and our on-screen chemistry worked out really well.
Who directed the video?
The video was directed by both Jonah Best and Aaron Gordon. They were very involved from the beginning and we had a lot of meetings where we discussed in depth about what we wanted to achieve with this video. I was so happy that we were on the same page on wanting to make it fun, light hearted and reminiscence of the innocence that comes with having a first crush. They were very respectful of my ideas and I am so grateful to have them on my team for this project.
Who are your current celeb crushes?
I still really think Chris Evans is seriously good looking, not sure if that’ll ever change.
Who would you like to collab with in the future?
I would say my dream collaborator would be Bruno Mars hands down.
What’s your songwriting process like?
It starts usually with me in the piano room and wanting to get an emotion on paper. I play a lot with different chord progressions that fits that feeling and try to write initial lyrics and melody. Once I have that skeleton, I then go in to fine tune the lyrics, usually by writing as much as i could and finding a phrase or a line that I really like and that writing could be 2 or 3 pages. But I find that it helps me get my thoughts out and i can then structure it. I then would find collaborators to help me get the melody to be as succinct and as catchy as possible, while still maintaining the original skeleton, which is what I did with this song “Part of Me.” But sometimes I really like what I have and I keep it that way without any additional co-writes, like I am a girl.
What’s next for you?
I think right now, it is planning to get this video out to as many people as possible and then maybe putting another show soon!
