THE MANY PERSONAS OF CHRIS MANN
‘THE VOICE’ COMPETITOR. RECORDING ARTIST. STAGE STAR. AND INTERNET SATIRIST. HOW DID LIFE GET THIS COMPLEX?
I flew to New York and had the final casting session with the entire production team where they film it and send it to Andrew [Lloyd Webber] and Cameron [Mackintosh]. And I booked it. I was not ready to take on the lead of a musical of that level, but that’s what happened.
Why did that burn you out so much, you felt like you wanted to do something besides music?
I did 700 performances without a break. That was a dream. But every two weeks to two months I was traveling, new climate, new city. I was getting reviewed and having to deal with that. Not to mention eight shows a week; it’s physically taxing. More than that, it’s emotionally and mentally taxing. I was playing a character that had a full breakdown by the end of every show. I was so grateful to have that job, but I was just tired. So I started studying for the GMAT [Graduate Management Admission Test]. In my makeup, in between shows.
That was clearly a knee-jerk reaction. I don’t like business. It made no sense for me. My thought was, “I’m going to run a music label. Who better to run a label than somebody who’s been through it?” I guess I’ll always feel injured from being dropped twice or getting a bad review when I didn’t feel like I deserved it, so I was almost trying to remove myself from that situation a little bit.
But you’re offered a “Voice” show in Vegas (“The Voice: Neon Dreams”) in 2017, you put business school on hold, and the show doesn’t happen. Meanwhile, you have a kid.
It was the worst period of my entire career. You were so unsure of what was coming next and how you’re going to be able to pay the bills. I was dead set and committed and had gotten into UCLA and USC and I was very excited about it. And then here comes “The Voice”: “Please come open this big show for us in Las Vegas.” My wife was pregnant. And then the show went away. I had a non-compete clause. So I was technically off the market for any bookings. I am having a child, I support my family with music and … that broke me. I was so angry, I had to get help. After having been resilient … I was unable to get up. That was really not great.
Cut to COVID: So all of my concerts are canceled. I did that shopping trip that we all did in the beginning. I put on a mask for the first time. Everyone was freaking out. Toilet paper was gone. It was panic and I came home and wrote “My Corona.” I’d never done a parody. I recorded it in my bathroom during my son’s nap and it changed my life. It got 20 million views in four days.
It was certainly a new direction for you.
I was kind of mortified when that went viral. I wasn’t singing that great. It was the first time that I hadn’t totally thought out, like, the way I was going to be perceived. This was like the big revelation for me in this year. [In the past] I couldn’t post something because, without approval from the label, what if I offend somebody? For the first time that went out the window and I started connecting with an audience. The Adele one [“Hello (From the Inside),” more than 13 million views], I was like, this would be so funny if I just tweaked it this way. I’m recording, I’m shooting everything as fast as I can in a very short window ’cause it’s only when my son can nap — in like a two-hour window. I have been running around this house trying to get as much footage as I can before he wakes up. That’s what my quarantine has been.
In the new album, “Noise,” I hear ’90s R&B, stuff from your childhood.
That’s exactly right. I got with Willy Beaman, my good friend and music director, and I set out to write songs that embody all that made me love music in the first place, because at [that] point I don’t really love it anymore. So I friggin’ love horn stacks. That’s gotta be in here. India.Arie has always been a massive influence to me. I want lots of thick harmonies. Justin Timberlake is a big influence. I love his use of falsetto. I love John Legend and his swag and how romantic it is. I’m almost 20 years older than when I started and I have a child and I’m married ... I’m also a grownass man. So that’s when “Gentleman” was written. “We can do grown things” is like, “I don’t have to be 18 to feel cool and sexy.”
Something else that has been very different for you lately is the sociopolitical bent of your messaging.
So this was, you know, we’re deep into the presidency at this point — it wasn’t even nearly as bad as it is now, but it was bad and we had the #MeToo movement. It’s irresponsible, especially if I’m making a record that nobody is asking for, to not say something that I think is important. So I wrote “Noise” about not being silent and standing up for yourself and yelling back.
Your parody “He’ll Be Back (‘Hamilton’ Trolls Trump)” was surprising because you didn’t have a history of making political statements. You also dedicated an a cappella version of “Bridge Over Troubled Water” to Black Lives Matter and include scenes of protest in your upcoming video for “Good Days.” Is there a relaxation that comes with just saying what you want to say, a kind of exhale?
There is, but there was also a major bracing for that. The “Hamilton” one, I was so terrified. I am so proud of that video. But I talked to so many friends, my parents, my wife: “Should I really do this?” It shows very clearly that I have a certain fan base on a certain platform and I have a different fan base on another platform. People hated me on one and celebrated me on another. I knew I was gonna lose fans; I was hoping I wasn’t gonna lose hundreds of thousands of fans. My whole life you try to get those following numbers as high as you can, and people look to that for your worth. Is he castable? Is he signable? What are his social figures?
I decided that if you fundamentally disagree that Black lives matter or that a candidate who has been such a tragedy and travesty ... then you probably don’t need to be my fan, and I had to be OK with that. I’ve spent my whole career making music that I wanted to be loved by everyone and [found] that doesn’t really work. So for the first time I’m making something that is genuinely me. And that means that some people aren’t gonna like it. And that’s OK.