A song inspired by the selfless responsibility and unconditional love a parent has for their baby, “My Favorite Stranger” dives into the mind of a first-time parent. Although neither member of the alt-pop duo has had children of their own, members Robert Murphy and Crystal St. John felt compelled to write a candid song that further explores the internal dialogue of a new parent as they realize their baby is a stranger that will grow into an independent person with their own thoughts and opinions. Murphy says, “My favorite line in the lyrics comes from a friend, actress Marci Miller, who once posted on Instagram about her newborn: ‘We see in colors that we never knew existed.’ We sort of adapted it to say ‘If only we all knew what to do, but these colors are so new.’ There is no playbook for being a parent—you really have to fly blind and grow with your baby, and that’s the message we were trying to get across.” The Hidden Gems have created an enthralling story about the realities of parenthood with new single “My Favorite Stranger”.
“My Favorite Stranger” was made remotely after Robert Murphy put out an open call audition in search of a vocalist for the demo he had created. Murphy was hypnotized by Crystal St. John’s vocal performance and St. John explains, “Robert sent me a demo of the song, and I basically had to translate how this would sound with my voice and my own maternal spin on the song, which I’m not a mother, but I do feel like this was very well fitting because I feel like I’m kind of a maternal personality.” After emailing back and forth for weeks, the duo had come up with the catchy melodies and illustrative lyrics that can be heard in the song today.
The duo decided to produce “My Favorite Stranger” as an alternative pop song with hints of 90’s brit rock and Motown. As the process began to progress, Robert Murphy brought in top music industry instrumentalists to play on the track. These musicians included drummer Dan Konopka from rock band OK Go, bassist Sean Hurley who has played with John Mayer, Lana Del Rey, and Stevie Nicks, renowned pianist Michael Arrom, Guitarist Leo Abrahams who produced and played guitar on Regina Spektor’s album “Remember Us to Life,” Matt DeMerritt on the entire horn section, and pro synth player Beau Golden. With the help of these musicians, The Hidden Gems was able to create a sound unique to themselves. After the song was recorded, the duo brought on professional mix engineer Ghian Wright, who has worked with the likes of Duran Duran, Nine Inch Nails, and John Legend, to mix the track and meld the instruments together. With hard-hitting rock drums, funk-inspired basslines, delicate yet powerful vocals, experimental guitars, and 80’s inspired synth tracks, “My Favorite Stranger” keeps listeners engaged from start to finish.
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