New York-based artist Amanda Holley has just realised a banging new single titled SEASONING. The track is an r&b infused pop song with a fantastic amount of soul, displaying Amanda’s talents off to the world in great style. We caught up with the songstress to find out more about SEASONING and what the future holds for her music career…
By Jane Howkins
How has your year been so far? All good I hope? I think this is our first time speaking to you!
This year has been deeply transformative and powerful, to say the least, and I know I’m not alone in saying that. I’m grateful to say that through everything, music sustains me (as it always has and always will), and it truly means the world to be able to share it with each of you!
Yes, this is my first time with York Calling, and it’s so beautiful to meet you, Jane. Thank you so much for having me!
You have a new single out titled SEASONING. What can you tell us about the song and how has the reception been so far?
The SEASONING video is one I’ve been holding close to my soul! The song itself took us by surprise – as it came out of a collaboration with my producer and co-writer, Andre Fennell (a.k.a. GC Gate Citizens), who is not only Grammy-winning, but is like a brother to me. He’s been here with me on this journey since I started, and every time we get to create, something magical happens.
This time, it was a series of collaborations between me, Andre and co-writer Emmillienne Bellaire. We were at the end of our scheduled sessions, having cut a few big singles that are coming soon, when SEASONING happened.
Unlike much of my music, the song itself was nearly complete when it found me. Usually, I write and compose from the melodies, lyrics and chords that come through me, and go from there. But every now and then, a frequency finds me. Whilst I did contribute melodies, lyrics and vocal arrangements to this work, ultimately I feel I was meant to simply be the instrument, to the best of my ability – to let the song happen to me and through me as the performer and let it live, be there for and reach the souls it is meant to reach. It is a part of me now.
When we released it, we had no idea of the love we would receive. We simply dropped it as a passion project, so receiving global airplay in over 135 countries and First Ballot GRAMMY® consideration for Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Song has been beautiful, amazing and surreal on so many levels and I am so very grateful to each and every listener, journalist, DJ, radio station and Grammy voting member who has been here for this journey thus far!
Am I right in thinking the track was actually released in 2024, with the video being filmed recently? May I ask the reason for doing things in this order?
Yes! The record was originally released in 2024 and shortly after receiving GRAMMY® consideration and during the editing of the video, I ended up sustaining a major injury after falling down a flight of stairs! With multiple fractures in my foot, I could not even take a single step let alone walk or tour for many many months and full recovery took well over a year!
Meanwhile, we already had the dance scenes ready to go with choreographer Frida Molina (who just recently performed at the FIFA official stages & with Usher at METLIFE Stadium) – howveer, I couldn’t tour with the injury and there was still one final performance shot needed (initially scheduled for a location in California).
Once I finally did recover nearly 12 months later, I had a brutal game of catch up to play, so it wasn’t until the ‘Bassy’ Bob Brockman built up his new studio in Brooklyn and said “I want to shoot some scenes for Seasoning” that we even got those last shots in to complete the narrative.
However, I feel that everything happens for a reason – the murals on the streets don’t exist anymore nor does the hotel where we shot the greenhouse scenes and the stairwell and Bassy Bob’s studio was built over a year after our initial video shots were complete. All in all, it feels like this really fits the soul of the song more-so than my original ‘glossy’ location that I had planned for in LA – my vision became deeper and I feel it is truer for this.
As a part of the injury aftermath, we had to push back all of my major scheduled releases, and we had to time everything to re-start in tandem and finally – here we are, and it means everything to finally be able to share each piece with each of you.
Do you have any more singles or videos due out in the near future?
We are finally releasing a stream of singles & videos that have been slated for a while now. The first one drops on Friday August 21st and there is a video for it to follow! This will be followed by a string of collaborations with producers and co-writers ranging from multi-Grammy, Oscar winning & Billboard-Charting artists, as well as up and coming co-writers and producers! Some of these works I’ve been holding onto since I started this journey, and I cannot wait for them to finally be out there in the world.
Who are your main musical influences and what have you been listening to recently?
Coming up through extreme circumstances, I’ve always survived on music, and the artists who create and share it so passionately and generously with us all. I love and have always looked up to the great female vocalists & songwriters like Aretha, Whitney Houston, Billie Holiday, Joni Mitchell, Dolly Parton, Ella Fitzgerald, Stevie Nicks, Jennifer Holiday, Diane Warren, Mariah Carey… there are SO Many I could go on for DAYS and that’s just the female artists! I’ve currently been really feeling SZA, The Weeknd, Muni Long and Kendrick Lamar, among others.
Great songs with melodies and lyrics that change me on some level, force me to feel, confront something within myself or help me heal and transcend – that is the music that inspires me most and pushes me to dig deeper into my own work as an artist, musician, songwriter and vocalist, so I can somehow give something back to the music that has always been there for me, in whatever little way I can.
Do you have anything else exciting coming up this year? I hear you may be starring on reality TV at some point?
I have a few major film projects coming up and have been starring on a reality TV show that has been in development, even through the SAG strike! This is all I can say for now, but I look forward to sharing more soon!
Do you perform live? Do you plan to tour in the UK anytime soon?
The stage is the most free place in the world to me, and my music has taken me to stages I could only dream of as a little girl: Carnegie Hall, Sony Hall NYC, New York Fashion Week, Coachella, LA Fashion Week, the United Nations and hundreds of live shows and venues across the United States – some of which have aired in more than 120 countries abroad.
Live performance started for me at all of three feet tall, playing state theaters, city stages, churches and Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway. Coming up through so much, it was my one safe space, and being there with the audience (whether it’s hundreds or thousands) is the most beautiful feeling in the world. I’d love to keep performing hopefully for the next 300 years if I can!
And I cannot wait to perform in the UK. We have many invitations and it is absolutely on the agenda and I cannot wait!
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