It can be hard to make it as an artist these days, especially with so many people online vying for the same thing while trying to stand out on social media. Canadian alt-pop singer Maggie Andrew has seemingly cracked the code—or at least, the code for how to make a little money off of it.
On September 26, Andrew released “HOW TO SING FOR MONEY,” her EP with a title track of the same name. The project started after the release of her 2024 EP, “DAY JOB,” with a month of writing with Carleton Stone and Kyle Mischiek, and her grand prize win of the Canadian Broadcast Corporation Music’s Searchlight contest. The Nova Scotia native’s music has caught the eyes of numerous organizations, including Billboard, Alternative Press, Whitecap Entertainment (producers of the SOMMO Festival), and the East Coast Music Association, for which she has won African Canadian Artist of the Year two years in a row at their annual festival. She’s also captured the hearts of her 23k+ combined followers on Instagram and TikTok and over 10k monthly listeners on Spotify.
“HOW TO SING FOR MONEY” has lyrics akin to Gracie Abrams, but a style unique to Andrew. On her genre, Andrew shares that “My voice is the thing that makes my sound my own, and the elements around it will always shift and change.” Her voice is soft but powerful, especially in the song “Fall Like a Feather.” The last track on the EP and arguably the most moving one, it has poignant lyrics such as “Don’t take my silence for weakness // Courage to see what I needed” and “I don’t trust as much as I used to // Weight on me that I’m getting used to.” Whereas “Did You Cry” is more poignant in a heartbreaking way, with Andrew experiencing a crisis over doubting how real a past relationship was. Almost like a precursor, “Unfinished Business” has Andrew picking up on the details that her partner is likely cheating on her with no regret and constant belittling. In a way, it’s almost like the events of “Emotional Touchdown” follow the breakup and how she travels around the world in the hopes of finding herself and happiness again.
On the more spiritual side of things, the song “If God Was Real” has Andrew skeptical about the existence of God. All her life (and the lives of many generations before her), she was raised to place her trust in God and “let Jesus take the wheel,” but has a hard time believing when she has been through some awful times. Instead, she takes life lessons from her family in “Father Figure,” and observes the decisions that shape their future.
Lastly, the title track shows how to turn lemons into lemonade, or rather, bad memories into money by way of songwriting. The chorus is one that will get stuck in your head, and the bridge is an unserious step-by-step guide on how to get famous. The music video directed by MOOSECANFLY features Andrew in a plain bedroom wearing curlers and a nightgown. People gradually carry more furniture into her room as she begins to do her hair and makeup and puts on a colorful 70s-inspired outfit while dancing around her room. The video, released back in May, has already gotten her nominations for Single and Music Video of the Year for the 27th annual African Nova Scotian Music Association (ANSMA) Awards, where she is also nominated for Songwriter of the Year and is scheduled to perform at the show on October 9.
