Van Scott - Tough Love
PREMIERE | VÂN SCOTT RELEASES ALLURING ‘TOUGH LOVE’
Alt-pop singer-songwriter Van Scott, aka Scott Oatley, premieres his new single, “Tough Love,” on Rawckus. “Tough Love,” co-written with greisun, is the first of a series of singles he plans to drop this year, including “Die Young” and “Poster Boy.”
Van Scott
According to Scott, “Tough Love” is about yearning for a friend who “won’t just pat you on the back and tell you what you want to hear, but will care enough about you to let you know when you’re wrong and help you become a better person.”
Involved in the music industry since 2008, Scott made his studio debut on High School Musical 3, and appeared on the soundtracks for films like La La Land and Jurassic World, as well as on television: The Simpsons, Black-ish, and The Goldbergs. He’s performed with Danny Elfman, Oingo Boingo, and on demos for Maroon 5.
Prior to opting to go solo, Scott was half of Lord & Lady, whose performance of “La La Land Medley” amassed more than 5 million views on YouTube, and was used by Russian figure skaters Kristina Astakhova and Alexey Rogonov at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Lord & Lady released two highly praised EPs, their self-titled EP, and No Ghost.
The smooth flow of the music combined with Scott’s honeyed timbres imbues the lyrics with exquisite flavors.
With encouragement from Grammy-winning producer Mike Elizondo, Scott made the decision to pursue a solo career. Scott explains, “There’s something challenging and invigorating to being your own person, your own artist, and having the opportunity to fully express yourself through your own music.”
He goes on to add, “While it has been fun working on TV shows and movie soundtracks, ultimately that has still left me in the background, singing other people’s songs. For years, I have woken up with melodies in my head, recording them on voice memos and wanting to do more with them. With the release of ‘Tough Love’ and my other singles this year, I am finally fulfilling my dream of being an artist singing my own material. I’ve been in writing mode for a long time, and I’m now starting to line up gigs and showcases, confident in my music and with great new songs to play. It’s exciting to finally have the opportunity to share my deeper artistry with everyone.”
“Tough Love” opens on an elegant piano topped by Scott’s delicious velvety falsetto, and flows into an infectiously textured pop melody embellished by radiant crystalline vocal harmonies. A plump bassline and crisp, tight drums drive the measured rhythm, as tantalizing creamy harmonic surface colors ripple overhead.
Seamless sonic shifts infuse the tune with layers of interweaving coloration and tasty tonal variations. The smooth flow of the music combined with Scott’s honeyed timbres imbues the lyrics with exquisite flavors. Scott's sumptuous tones are on par with Sam Smith, rife with haunting shades of color.
“Gimme a little more tough love / Maybe I need to grow up / I think that I can take it / If it's coming from you, oh / If I'm becoming a problem / Baby, please tell me straight up / I think that I can take a little more of that tough love.”
“Tough Love” blends cool R&B savors with polished pop washes, resulting in a gorgeously intoxicating tune, capped by the lush voice of Van Scott.
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