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Special Episode: Kelsie Watts on fitting into Broadway and pop music
00:23:58
On today’s episode, Matt Tamanini is in conversation with one of the stars of “SIX” on Broadway, Kelsie Watts. After taking over the role of Jane Seymour in the show earlier this year, Kelsie is releasing her latest single, “Fit In,” on Friday,
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- [00:01]
Styles MacKenzie
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- [00:38]
Matt Tamnini
To.
- [00:38]
Kelsey Watts
A special Interview Episode of Broadway Radio My name is Matt Tamnini.
- [00:41]
Matt Tamnini
Because of the Juneteenth holiday yesterday, there really wasn't any news to speak of in the Broadway world, so Grace and I are taking the day off from a traditional Today on Broadway episode. But yesterday I did have the opportunity to speak to a guest that we've had here on Broadway Radio before, Kelsey Watts, who is currently playing Jane Seymour in Six on Broadway. Today, June 20, Kelsey is releasing a new single called Fit in, which I'll play a little bit of at the end of the episode. So you have to stay around to hear all of that. It is available now, though, in all of the streaming services where you normally get your music. The last time I spoke with Kelsey, she was just a week into her run in six, but now she's had the opportunity to really live in Jane Seymour's skin and she actually just got back from a week's vacation, so she is feeling fully refreshed as she heads into this grueling period of not only summer on Broadway, but also releasing and promoting promoting a new song while also writing and recording new music as well. We talked about why Fit in is the first time where Kelsey really felt like she was able to find her sound, what the writing process was like, and then also whether there might be more Broadway in her future after her contract with six is up. She even drops the names of a few roles that she would be interested in playing.
- [01:53]
Kelsey Watts
So that's very exciting.
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Matt Tamnini
If you're unfamiliar with Kelsey, she is an amazing vocalist who came to fame through some viral auditions on both American Idol and the Voice and has blown up on social media not only with her original music, but also covers of some of your favorite songs. And it doesn't hurt that her adoring husband Brandon is often seen in the backgrounds of her videos just staring at her lovingly.
- [02:15]
Kelsey Watts
All right, with all of that out.
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Matt Tamnini
Of the way, here is my conversation with Broadway and music star Kelsey Watts.
- [02:27]
Kelsey Watts
Well, Kelsey, you just got back from a week's vacation. How are you feeling Are you feeling rested? Were you ready to get back into the sequence and the heels and everything for six after a week off?
- [02:39]
Honestly, yeah, I missed it. I will say I loved doing absolutely nothing. We went to the Dominican Republic and when I tell you I just slept outside for pretty much the majority of every day, it was so nice. But by the end of it I was like, okay, I, I'm having major fomo. I miss the girls, I miss doing the show. So I was excited to get back for sure.
- [03:03]
I would imagine you're a dancer and a performer, so like you've done this for a long time, but like, I would imagine that diving into a Broadway show especially, that's that physical. I mean, I think people think six is 80, 85 minutes.
- [03:15]
Matt Tamnini
Like, it's short.
- [03:16]
Kelsey Watts
It's probably really easy.
- [03:18]
Matt Tamnini
There's so much choreo in that show. It's insane.
- [03:21]
Kelsey Watts
It's insane. It is truly insane. Like the other girls that have been in other Broadway shows that are in my cast have said this is so much harder. And it's, I mean, it's different. Like it's a different kind of hard. But it's, it's, it is, it's really difficult because you're changing formations every like 4 seconds, if not more, on top of, you're dancing in heels. You never leave the stage, maybe to grab a pair of sunglasses. But it's, it's very physically demanding. So all of us are like in physical therapy twice a week, like making sure our knees are okay, our hips are okay. Like, it's, it really is, it's super physically demanding. Yeah.
- [03:59]
Well, I'm sure that the vacation was well needed and hopefully it gets you ready for the rest of the shows. But this show, as you said, the choreo is different. It's a little bit different than what a lot of other girls in the show have done in other shows. Now you are taking this new experience for you and adding on something else that you want to do with releasing a new song, releasing new music. How is it that journey overlapping with the new experiences of being on Broadway? And how are you balancing those two things at the same time?
- [04:33]
Yeah, I'm barely balancing it, if I'm being completely honest. It's actually very difficult. I mean, eight shows a week alone is wild because we also have brush up rehearsals. Like six is very intense on the rehearsal process, consistently cleaning. I mean, so we have one on ones and rehearsals on top of the eight shows a week. But then to also be not only releasing a song right now, but Consistently writing as well. Because now that this song is about to come out tomorrow, I also have to keep writing. So that way there's something to follow it up if I don't have something that I already really love. So it's. It's a process of I need to be present in this show and be Jane Seymour and be like 100% in it. But then I also have to be 100% present in Kelsey Watts and writing and recording and releasing and then doing, you know, things like press and photo shoots and stuff for both of them. So it really is. I have to be very intentional with my time management. My calendar is hilarious.
- [05:42]
Yeah. Oh, I'm sure. Lots of color coded things on the schedule, I'm sure. Yeah, I'm interested. As you're doing both and you said, like, it's tough to balance. Is six and Jane Seymour bleeding into the writing you were doing as Kelsey?
- [05:58]
I wouldn't really say so. Honestly, a lot of Jane Seymour I've been able to tap into from who Kelsey Watts already is. There are. One thing I love about this show is they don't ask us to be carbon copies of everybody that's done this character before. You know, there are super famous shows like, you know, Wicked and the Lion King and Hamilton, and people love those characters already. And so everybody that's hired, even though they're bringing their own person to it, they are asked to play this character very specifically. Whereas in 6, we're encouraged to bring more of our personality to this character and we have a little bit more fluidity. So honestly, I think it was kind of the other way around. I was able to bring in Kelsey Watts, the writer and the artist into this character a little bit. You know, I asked permission specifically. I was like, hey, can I be a little, like, more edgy with my character and like, lean into the awkwardness and not necessarily be as ingenue as I think some people have perceived her prior. And they were like, yeah, let's do it. I was like, yes. So, you know, I think it almost had a little bit of the reverse effect. Yeah. Crazy. I never thought of that before.
- [07:17]
I'm sure that's like, as an artist that's probably going into something new, like your first Broadway show, like, that has to kind of be a relief and something exciting and like you said, an opportunity that's not afforded to everybody in situations like this.
- [07:29]
Oh, my gosh. Yeah. I'm so blessed to not only be on Broadway in general, but to be in this show specifically. It's so fun.
- [07:42]
I will get you back to the.
- [07:43]
Matt Tamnini
Rest of my conversation with Kelsey Watts here in just a moment. But before I do, we have to.
- [07:48]
Kelsey Watts
Talk about our sponsors for this week.
- [07:50]
Matt Tamnini
And we will start with Cash App. As it's the summer, I am going to be traveling again next week. I'm going to be heading out of town to Las Vegas to celebrate my birthday, crossing something off my bucket list. And while I'm there, I'm going to be seeing family and friends and I.
- [08:04]
Kelsey Watts
Have no doubt that whether it is.
- [08:06]
Matt Tamnini
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- [10:27]
Kelsey Watts
If you are at home and want.
- [10:28]
Matt Tamnini
To stream something that might only be available on, let's say, a British platform, you can do that. Or if you are on the road and you want to watch a game that is only available in your specific home market, Surfshark is the perfect way to do it. Because my day job is in covering streaming, I'm exposed to so many different TV shows and movies from around the world and I can't tell how many times I've used Surfshark to watch things that I wouldn't be able to see otherwise. Whether that's from the uk, from Scandinavia, they've got great crime dramas in that part of the world. Or even if I wanted to check out Cricket, which I have to do for work, sometimes Surfshark is the way to go and it also protects your connection on public WI fi. With all the traveling that I do, sometimes I'm working in a coffee shop, in an airport, at a train station, or whether I'm checking email at the airport or trying to watch something on some sketchy hotel Internet. Surfshark keeps it all locked down and keeps my data safe. And an added bonus, Surfshark alert tells me if my data shows up in a breach, it's like an early warning system for your identity. So there really is no better way to protect it and enhance your online experience than with Surfshark VPN. Go to surfshark.comtob and use code TOB for four extra months of Surfshark. That's surfshark.comtob, and code TOB. You'll find all that information in the show notes. There's a 30 day money back guarantee, so there is no risk, just secure browsing.
- [11:54]
Kelsey Watts
Well, let's talk about the new single, give us the vibe. What is your bop in your head? Okay, so it's a bop. Tell us about the song that's being released as of when this comes out. As of today, yes.
- [12:07]
So the song is called Fit in and it's very much like if Pink and Rihanna kind of have like a love child, you know, it has. It has a vibe, but it also very much has, like, the pop rock elements to it. Whenever I was writing it, I sat down with dq, who is the producer of the song, and we really just kind of dug into the sounds that we wanted the song to have, to get across the message of what the song is. And, you know, as we were talking, we just went and grabbed a coffee. We had never written together before. It was our very first time writing together, and we were just talking about life, and I got on the topic of being an artist and trying to fit into what everybody else wanted me to sound like and wanted me to portray and the kind of music people wanted me to release, and I was like, but it's just, like, not me. Like, I just want to be me. And then that got us even deeper into, you know, elementary school and high school and being like, wow, I was never the cool kid. I was never, you know, invited to have a date to prom. I wasn't invited to the parties. Like, I got along with everybody, but I wasn't cool. And so I all. And I always wanted to be like the cool kids, you know, And I think just as human beings, that's natural and just part of our, you know, genetic makeup. We want to feel like we belong. And I never really felt like I did. So it took me a long time to accept, like, I am me, and that's perfectly perfect. And I don't need to try to be anybody else to be cool. I all. I just am me. And so this song really emulates being like, why are you trying to fit in when you already do? So it's very much like a power anthem for, like, self, self love.
- [13:51]
As you went on this journey to write this song, were there things that you found out about who you were that maybe you didn't even realize that you were trying to avoid or trying to change or anything that felt like, oh, that's a part of Kelsey that I didn't know wasn't fitting in or I wasn't even fitting with. Even before you started the whole process?
- [14:13]
Yeah. Honestly, I think it's easy for me to take everything back to, you know, elementary school, high school and be like, I wasn't cool kid. But even as an artist, finding your sound is so interesting and so intricate because I have the style of voice that I do. And especially coming off of the voice, back in 2020, most people were like, you just need to be pop. Just sing ballads. You just need to be pop. Like, that's what. That's what you're great at, like. And people will love that. And I love ballads, and I. And I love pop music. But there's also an aspect of me that I grew up listening to. Yes, Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, but also to Boston and Def Leppard and Kiss, and, you know, like, I just. There's. There's so much of this aspect that I'd kind of fought against to be like, oh, well, people aren't going to listen. I was writing songs that I thought that people were going to want to hear and that would be commercial and maybe pop up on TikTok instead of writing something that was just me. And so the second that I stopped trying to mold into this music industry and was just like, nope, this is me. Take it or leave it. If you like it, awesome. If you don't, that's okay. That's when things actually started to work crazy enough.
- [15:32]
And would you say that fit in? Is this Kelsey Watts sound? Is this what you were going for?
- [15:38]
Yeah, yeah, it really is. It's the first song that I've written and been able to release that I really feel like is me. You know, I mean, I think with every artist, there's a lot of layers, you know, different sounds. You know, obviously this isn't gonna sound like a Kelsey Watts ballad, because it's not that sure. But, I mean. But yes, it is. I'm like, this is. This is me. It's very pop rock. And I. I love it. I love it so much.
- [16:03]
As you go from this song and you start to write, you know what you were saying, you're always kind of writing something and trying to find out what that next single is. What have you learned about kind of exploring this new sound, about what that means moving forward? You said, like, not every song is going to be the same. You know, it's not gonna be a ballad or a rock song.
- [16:23]
Right.
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But, like, how do you take the lessons from that and move it forward to what you do next?
- [16:29]
So Crazy Enough, which I have not talked to anybody about this yet, but there's a song that I wrote last year, and we had already written Fit In. And so I was working with another writer to figure out, like, hey, you know, let's, like, explore this. And I was like, what would it sound like to still have this edgy sound, but maybe with less guitar, like, create this sonically, like, really cool vibe, but maybe it's not as rock, but it still has that edge, you know? Like, it's. It's been really interesting to explore pieces of What I would want to create as a whole project on a record. You know, I think Olivia Rodrigo is a great example. Whenever she released her Sour album, you know, she has the good for you, you know, and then, like, you know, there's driver's license, and they are two completely different sounds. Like you're just like, wait, what? But it works together because she's the artist that she is. So even though the sounds are slightly different, it works on a project as a whole. So I'm super excited to continue to explore those different writing elements. So that way, hopefully, in the near future, I'm able to actually do a full album. So that way, I can present a project of who Kelsey Watts really is.
- [17:48]
Yeah, I love that. And it's. You know, it is to bring it at least tangentially back to Broadway. Like, an album kind of is like a show. Not every song in six sounds the same, but when you put them together, they all work cohesively. And that's, you know, I think, like you were talking about with Olivia, that's what an album should do.
- [18:07]
Yes, 100%. That's exactly right.
- [18:10]
Well, as you are in New York City, there is a lot of different art and artists that you can kind of explore and needle to when you're not in. Because you were in Nashville before. Like, how has New York kind of either either subtly or directly, kind of infiltrated the process of writing and trying to find new sounds and stuff? Is that. Have you started to see some of those different influences of the city impact what you're putting down on paper?
- [18:38]
You know, I wish. I will say I love New York. I have fallen in love with it. I never want to leave. I just want to stay here. I think it's the coolest place. Like, I love the vibes. I love that you have so much access to everything and every style. There's just. It's. Everything's here. It's wild. But I will say, because of the schedule of six, I haven't had as much of an opportunity to work with people directly here on writing. Most of my rights right now are zooms, so they're either. Most of them are still in Nashville, actually. Yeah, but they're. I haven't been able to work with people directly here to kind of be in the studio in that vibe. Like, it's. It's just so different. It's so different writing on a phone and then writing in person and both, like, have their place and you make it work. But that's definitely something that I'm looking Forward to is being able to really, like, bring the city into a right. For sure.
- [19:41]
Yeah. And, like, just walking around New York City later, there's music on the people, you know, buskers on the subway stations, or just, you know, there's literal art on, you know, the walls. Whether it's graffiti or all around, like, there's. I feel like there's probably the more you're in the city, things will just kind of, by osmosis, kind of trickle into who anybody is as a person, let alone as an artist. So that's exciting to see what. What comes from that. But you. You mentioned, like, hey, maybe don't leave New York City. Obviously you got your first taste of Broadway. Is that something where you're like, okay, maybe after 6 is up, like, maybe this is something I continue to do. Do you balance those things out? What's. What's the. I don't know, the next five year plan? Like, is there Broadway music? Broadway music. Go back and forth, like, what are you feeling on what the future holds?
- [20:29]
I mean, right now I'm just pursuing both, like, pedal to the metal. And I really just believe whichever one. If both amazing, if one or the other succeeds more, then that's where I'm supposed to be. I have fallen in love with Broadway. I did not think that was ever something that I was gonna have the privilege to do. And it is so fun. Like, I would love. You know, there's roles like Satine and Moulin Rouge that I feel like would be a blast, and that would fit me really well. I got to see death becomes her the other day. And Viola, you know, the. The magic lady with the potion, like, Michelle. Oh, my gosh, would love to do that. You know, I mean, so there's things that I've seen that I'm like, oh, my gosh, I could do that. And watching them from an audience perspective, I'm like, well, they have tattoos that they don't have to cover up. I mean, they all look different. They can be. I was like, oh, heck, this is great. You know, obviously, if I'm in, like, a period piece, I'm not. I'm gonna have to be more of the character and not me. But, you know, but I do think that there is space in the Broadway industry for artists like myself to be able to continue to, you know, pursue. I mean, my gosh, Nick Jonas is on Broadway right now. George Clooney, Denzel Washington. I mean, there's just. There are so many people that are meshing, you know, artistry and Broadway. Like, Joey Fatton is still in Ann Juliet. And, you know, I just think that there's space for both, but right now, I'm just gonna keep pursuing both of them until maybe something gives.
- [22:02]
Yeah. Yeah. Well, like you said, you're already pushing and burning the candle at both ends right now. So as you drink some coffee, I.
- [22:09]
Was about to say this is cup number two. Cup number two.
- [22:11]
Okay. And it's. And it's 10:30 in the morning. Yeah. Well, I know you've got a bunch of other stuff to. To get through today, so I'll wrap it up with this. Fit in is, by the time this is out, available for people to stream wherever they get their music. We talked about what the song means to you and throughout your journey from childhood up until now as an artist. Yeah. But once you kind of put it out into the world, it belongs to the listeners. What are you hoping that they take away from Fit In?
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I really hope the listeners leave Fit in feeling like they belong. Like they have us. They have a safe space. They have a place. Whether that's with me, whether that's with their friends that they're listening with it. Like, whether. Sorry. Whether that's with their friends that they're listening to the song with, whether that's their family, whether that's their workplace, you know, whatever it is, I want them to walk away being like, you know what? I am me. And that is perfect. And that's it. Yeah.
- [23:11]
And final question, and probably the most important. How does your husband feel about the song? Is he a fan? Is he?
- [23:19]
Brandon loves this song. It's also his favorite that I've done so far. He like, we're actually. We need to make a couple TikToks about it today because I'm behind on my TikTok game, but we need to do some for Fit in specifically. And it's just. It's such a vibe. It's so cool. It's something you can, like, really, like, rock out to in the car, and you just, like, want to scream it. It's like, yes, this is great. So he's. He loves it and is super supportive, and he's just the best. Yeah.
- [23:48]
Awesome. Well, thank you so much for taking the time to chat about it and congratulations on the single and everything going on in six. And I know that so many people are so excited to see what happens with the song and then whatever happens next in your continued artistic journey.
- [24:03]
Thank you so much. You're awesome.