R&B singer-songwriter Vedo never seems to slow down. Between writing credits on Usher & Ella Mai’s “Don’t Waste My Time” and Chris Brown’s “Warm Embrace”, a viral Tiny Desk Concert video with his mentor Usher, a performance at Pharrell’s Something in the Water festival, and his own expansive body of work, Vedo has taken the R&B world by storm. His smooth vocals and deep lyrics have a global reach and are truly one-of-a-kind.
His versatile sixth studio album, Mood Swings, features 13 tracks that capture the highs and lows through relationships and the complexities of the emotions that can coexist. It depicts every stage from anticipation and lust to vulnerability and love, and everything in between. Standout tracks include the warm and vulnerable “Soul”, the deep love song “Forever”, the uplifting anthem “Celebrate”, and of course, the collaboration with Chris Brown. After working with Brown on “Warm Embrace”, Vedo collaborated with him once again on Mood Swings’ “Do You Mind?” for a sultry, feel-good masterpiece.
On the album, Vedo explains, “this is my first album where I actually had a team of writers come in and assist me with this project and we all got the chance to really learn from each other,” Vedo explains about Mood Swings. “But the music speaks for itself, and we just want to you feel… whatever the emotion or mood is.”
We spoke with VEDO about his relationship with Usher, facing his own emotions in order to write about them, and his future plans to add acting to his resume.
Stream Mood Swings…
And now for the interview…
Hey Vedo! How are you doing?
I’m doing great, thank you for asking. How are you?
Let’s recap last year, how was it for you? Were there any particular highlights?
Last year was amazing. Created a lot of music, did a lot of shows, released my EP While You Wait but I would have to say the biggest highlight was doing the Tiny Desk Concert with Usher and Eric Bellinger. We also performed at the Something in the Water Festival in front of 120k people.
I wanted to start right at the beginning. How did you first get into music? Where did the interest stem from?
I’ve always had an interest, but my first time performing was in church and after that I knew I would always want to make people feel that way.
And what was it like being mentored by Usher? What was the most valuable thing you learnt from him?
Being mentored by Usher is absolutely amazing. He’s very insightful and knowledgeable about not just music but even life. A living legend. One thing I have learned from Usher is to always trust myself, never second-guess, believe in something until the world believes.
Tell us about the first song you ever wrote.
The first song I ever wrote was this song called “I Really Want You”. I was 12 years old and that is when I got my start as a songwriter and ever since then I’ve been writing all of my songs.
And now you’re releasing your sixth studio album, Mood Swings! What initially inspired the effort?
Mood Swings was inspired by me, wanting to highlight the different moods, ups and downs one person endures. Life and love can be happy or sad. It can be confusing, misleading, discouraging, and can ultimately lead to insecurities. With Mood Swings I wanted to highlight the fact that no one is perfect. Everyone is human.
Did you learn anything in particular while creating the album?
Yes, I learn to be more vulnerable, more transparent, trust my first mind, stop trying to make music you think everyone would like — make music that is true.
You have mentioned that the album explores multiple parts of yourself, do you think this album forced you to confront yourself in a new light?
Yes, it definitely forced me to ask questions I didn’t want the answer to, but I knew I needed the answer to work on it, to fix it, to understand where someone was coming from. With this album, I wanted to say things that the normal person is embarrassed to say, or afraid of being judged. Mood swings. It’s not just an album, it’s an event.
Do you have a favourite track in particular? If so, what is it and why?
I would have to say I have a couple favorite tracks, which are “Waterfalls” and “Celebrate”. Those two songs are just pure R&B. It takes you back to a place where R&B felt good, you felt loved, you felt safe, you felt sexy. They have everything that R&B exudes and that is why those two songs are my favorites.
You’ve seen such an exponential rise in recent years, is there anything you wish you could go back and tell your younger self?
I would go back and tell my younger self to keep going. Whatever happens in life is meant to happen. Everything is going to be OK.
What’s next for you? What are you hoping to achieve in 2023?
I will be going on tour. I will be releasing another album this year. I will be exploring the acting world — getting into that field has always been a dream of mine — so yeah 2023, it’s up.
If you could have written any other song in the world that is not your own, what would it be?
I wish I would’ve written Céline Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” and Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas”.
Who would be your dream artist to collaborate with?
Stevie Wonder.
And finally, where do you want to be in the next ten years?
In ten years I want to be a father of three to five kids somewhere on an island relaxing while all my hard work that I’ve put in over the years is making me money in my sleep. Of course I want to have 10 Grammys and 50 platinum records, but that goes without saying.