On today’s SNAPSHOTS, our guest and his band dropped a brand-new single called “Chance of Love ” just a few weeks ago. “Chance on Love” is a soulful power ballad that speaks to many facets of love, expressing the connectivity of humanity and the life-changing possibilities of taking a chance on yourself by taking a chance on another. This song was inspired by a new love, and being a first-time dad, which is such wonderful news. And the debut single of the group’s forthcoming EP.
My friends, let’s welcome singer/songwriter Brett Hellings.
Thanks so much for having me on the show. I can’t wait to talk more about everything.
I heard the song a few times this week, and it’s a very beautiful ballad with relatable lyrics. Tell us what went through your mind when you penned this beautiful piece?
Well, a lot of things were going through my mind, but I kind of tried to simplify it, really. Like you said, it became like a universal thing when I decided not to make it so much about me. About how everybody feels when they’re trying to give their selves into love, and maybe in more of a self-love sort of thing. It’s more than just a girl. “Can I make it out of this world?” You know? And when love is too hard to leave behind, when you find someone, are you at the point in your life that you can really love? Are you open to love? Can you be loved, as the great Bob Marley would say?
So that’s kind of where I was going with it. Originally, I was thinking melodically; I was singing in my much higher register. Then my producer, Rich Fortus, is like, “Can we just take it down maybe an octave and see how that sounds?” And it became really soulful, angelic in a sense. I was thinking about my Motown roots mixed with that really, really exceptional, universal concept, which I write about love a lot, but taking a chance on it is even a greater risk, a greater reward.
When I heard the song a few times, it reminded me of how many chances I have taken on love, whether they lasted long or short, whether they were with a human or a puppy dog. You’re right that the song is universal, no matter where it is. And speaking of love, we have to talk about being a first-time dad!
She was just three on March 20th, when we released the single. Actually, I released it on her birthday. So it was an active day for us, but I wanted to honor her by releasing it on her birthday, because she had so much to do with it. She was in that room during that summer I was writing for this EP, and that thing came out almost again in a divine or angelic sense, where I think there were no new babies around. Spirituality is high; the creator is there. I could feel it in the room.
And it came to me when I was writing all my rock and roll, rebellious stuff, and all that kind of stuff. It just kind of flowed through me, and it was very easy to write, and I just listened to whatever that voice inside you that comes to you. It said, “Just keep it simple, everybody’s gonna get it. Everybody’s gonna get where you’re at and what you’re feeling.” And so she had so much to do with it.
Being a dad is the most amazing thing in the world. It teaches you so much about yourself, helps you grow, and it is one of the most challenging things, because everything is new. I had a mom, and I have so much appreciation for her now, because she took care of me so well. Now it’s like, wow, it takes so much work. But when you see that little smile in the morning, she could be 90% sour. But when she’s sweet, it’s all it’s over, you melt.
Oh yes, absolutely, I can.
Especially, since she’s three. You know the terrible twos. It’s terrible, but three is like, “Whoa. Okay, now they could do everything.” You’re just like, going around the house, just making sure someone doesn’t get hurt, and having a lot of fun. You have to learn to be fun and not take everything so seriously. And she, even in rock and roll, you have to be kind of like that. But she really takes me to that place of a kid again.
I take it that your little angel is a rock-and-roll fan. Is that correct?
She’s the next rock star. I think she’s going to be doing a lot better than even I did. I paved the way and trailblazed, but I think she’s going to do amazing stuff, because she gets down here with me when I write or just play. We have our jam sessions, and she’s got a little guitar on. She wants the mic; she wants to know how to twirl. She wants to know how to spin, sing, and do all those sorts of things with me. So it’s a privilege to see that someone really loves music, and you know, it’s in her blood.
And I couldn’t ask her anything more when I saw her actually liking my music, since I had a friend, and I jokingly said, ” Thank God, she likes your music.” What if she didn’t, and she only liked Peppa Pig or Louie? I’m like, okay, at least you know that’s how universal you got. You got from three to 83, which is nice. Hey, nothing wrong with that. I love some of those Peppa Pig things, yes, Baby Shark.
Well, thankfully, it’s not Baby Shark.
Oh, I know, right? You can’t do the Baby Shark just because, oh, my goodness, it gets stuck in your head.
Yeah, now stuck in my head. Speaking of being in your youth you mentioned moments ago that “Chance of Love” was inspired by the Motown roots. I want to hear what music you grew up with that inspired you to become a musician.
Well, I started with the grunge mood, because I was born in ’82. So right around ’92, I was becoming aware of what was actually really going on. Of course, in the ’80s, my dad was still taking me up to my room, teaching me Michael Jackson moves, and doing all those sorts of things. But in the ’90s, I really kind of grabbed on to the Nirvana wave, Pearl Jam, Sound Garden, of course, with Chris and STP (Stone Temple Pilots), which was my first concert when I was 14. When I first saw Scott Weiland, I saw him at the Vet (Veterans Stadium) here in Philadelphia. It’s not here anymore, but I remember it so directly, and it’s a memory that will always stay with me. He was in a white suit with blue shoes and came out doing his James Brown Dance moves in his white-boy grunge way. And I was just taken.
I kind of went back to the 50s, and I discovered really more Elvis, even though I grew up with kind of Elvis, but I got into the even deeper roots of where Elvis got his kind of stuff, through Albert King, Freddie King, and Muddy Waters. I really started studying the blues, and then I incorporated that into what I was already listening to when I was really young with my dad, which is the Motown roots of like Smokey, the Temps, and the Four Tops, and just all that kind of stuff. And, of course, Al Green, Otis Redding, I could go on and on, and that really impacted me. I really wanted to mold my vocal styling around that. And then I got into what 70s rock was like. What’s right behind me with my Stones poster, Aerosmith, and Zeppelin. I would just listen to so many different things and melt them all together. I think that’s what all artists do, just try to go for it to see what attracts them. Take little bits and pieces of what they like, and then that’s kind of where it came from.
But in this case, since it was so simple and the chord progression was so simple on “Chance on Love,” I just kind of want to do simple stuff. And I thought that someone like Smokey or Marvin Gaye was so simple in their direction with a universal concept like that. So that’s where I really went. And then Rich turned it into a modern-day rock-orchestrated crescendo ballad, with his guitar intro, his solo, and the background. So it turned it into something new, which we all need. We’re inspired by all of these things, but we tried to do something different, and I think we did still the same, still the same sort of feel. “Does it have soul? Does it have intention? Is it good? Do you feel it? Can you relate to it? “And those are the songs I think that live on forever.
Well, with your song, your recent single, mission accomplished. It definitely made me wearable. Great music, great tone. And I have to agree with your producer. He said, ” Tone it down a bit, because if it were in a higher pitch, it would have been much different.” I’m glad you have that wonderful relationship with Rich. And the second part of the question is, if you can open a show for any artist, past or present, who would it be?
It would have been the Rolling Stones, who just said they can’t tour anymore. Yeah, that would be my greatest opening up dream. Now, I don’t know if they just say that, and then maybe they’re just fooling with us, because there’s a lot of there’s a lot of farewell tours out there. Get it here, because it’ll never happen again. And then it happens, right? I think Cher had about eight or something like that. I forgot, and kids had a lot, but The Rolling Stones, I think, were my favorite inspiration. And if I could just to open up for Keith, something like that would be amazing. Of course, opening up for anybody like Oasis would be an incredible band to open up for their last tour. It just did so well, and they have such great songwriting. And that would be another one. I’ve actually seen them a couple of times, so that would be pretty cool.
And I don’t know, dead or alive, I would say INXS, would have been a really, really amazing band to open up for. I think that energy in that room would be incredible, life-changing. So I have so many I don’t even know where to start, but currently, you know, like bands like Rival Sons or Jack White making that comeback and getting inducted and all that kind of stuff. I mean, what an amazing songwriter, anything that has that soul sort of thing, and it’s real, because that’s what we need more of.
The question I was getting ready to ask is to talk about your upcoming show at the famous Whisky A-Go-Go on May 6th in Los Angeles. I wish you were coming here to DC.
If I do really well at this one, maybe I’ll make it to DC. I’ve been playing The Whisky since I was in my 20s. I cut my teeth on the strip. I will never forget opening up for Buckcherry at the Whisky, which was a really cool first time. And I lived in LA for a long time, but to be able to go back and play it again and again and be wanted and able is such an honor, and I’m so grateful. I will always look at that place as the place I wanted to play when I was 14, and in which I once said, “If I could just play the Whisky A-Go-Go.” So to talk to the young Brett and go, “You are playing the Whisky A-Go-Go in a couple of weeks,” it’s such an honor, and it’s such a cool place.
A lot of people say the L.A. scene is dead and it’s not what it was. And that’s not the case. You are the scene. You can bring it, and you can pack that place to have a great time, and I think we’re going to do that. And there is a lot of new stuff that, we just recorded that is, are going to be in that set – the new single, and something that we haven’t released at all yet, which is a song called “Power Trip,” which I think everybody’s gonna like – its very AC/DC, another band I would love to open up for. And they’re still doing it, so if they’re listening, I think Taylor Momson’s got that opening stop pretty nailed down. A couple of my stuff off of “Borderline,” and some oldies but goodies. It’s going to be a great night. If you want to come see some good rock and roll, come to the show.
Now, of all the songs that you have performed over the years, if you can name your top two favorite songs that you love performing, no matter where it is, no matter what venue it is, what are those top two songs? I wouldn’t always say number one, but I’m gonna give you two.
That’s a hard one. I have a large catalog, and I’ve played a bunch of different things. I would say ” The Traveler ” is one of my favorite songs to perform. Second, “Here to Have a Good Time” has always been one of my favorite songs to perform. It’s always an amazing song for people to get, you know, up and dancing and get into it, and get the girls shaking the booties, and the guys, you know, putting their hands in the air. So anything like that is really cool nowadays, if you let me have three, since I’ve done records, and I would say “Kill Me to Keep Loving You,” and “Rehab For Love,” or like a couple of other ones, which we will be playing at the show.
So those songs, I don’t know, I just feel area anthem-ish. They feel intentional about their greatness. They have this thing about them. But I’m probably going to say “Chance on Love” after I play it. I’ve never played it live yet. And I can’t wait to do it. It’s going to be a little different than me. I’m always up there sweating my butt off by song three, I have to, I have to kind of calm it down. Really good for this song, so I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen. So, to answer your question, I don’t just have two. I probably would save all of them.
As we talked, we touched on AI slowly getting into the music industry just moments ago. If you can change anything about the music industry, whether it’s AI or other things, what is one thing you would change and why?
I would definitely change how artists are supported. Since the advent of streaming, artists have not had the financial backing and time to develop. I think it’s really hurt the industry. A lot of artists need time to get down to their basements, have a little bit of money, and have a little bit of time to figure themselves out. And I don’t think a lot of people have that. I think people are just kind of like building off of trends that already exist, and then all of a sudden you don’t really get that soulful artist and that soulful thing but I think there’s a resurgence, and kind of like a bounce back from that sort of attitude that’s happening, where they’re so starved that they’re trying — they’re just doing it on their own.
I don’t really support the major labels that much. I’ve always done everything independently, because I didn’t really think that they were creating good art, or real art. It was more commercial art than who that person is, and commercial art is different. That’s there to sell something, a true artist, I believe, is there to get into you, and you get to know them, and your soul kind of thing. So that’s the one thing that I would want to see change within the industry, so we get more real stuff out there.
And here’s the last question: since you’ll be dropping a second single and there’s going to be an EP in the fall of 2027, what can fans of Hellings expect in the next several months and next year, with three potential products getting ready to come out?
A lot, we’re going to be releasing, “Are We Dreaming” in the summer, and maybe even one more single, which would be “Power Trip” or “Can’t Stop the Clock,” maybe by the end of the year, and then the EP probably in 2027, but we wanted to spread it out, give people, you know, the chance to really dissect and digest what we’re putting out there. I don’t like that in today’s world, it’s hard for people to even pay attention to anything when everybody’s on their phone. So taking it song by song, I think, is really the right way of doing it at this point. And I think we got some opportunities down in Mexico to play, and also overseas, we’ve been working really hard to get over to the pond and to the UK, which they’re really receiving us really well over there, love it over there, they I went to Ireland this past year, and everybody plays an instrument. Everybody’s into music, you know, whether it’s the traditional Celtic sort of thing that they do, they love rock too. I was over in London for a week, and they love it over there, so I’m excited to get over there. I’ve hit a lot of markets inside the US, New York, LA, and Nashville, and stuff like that, but I’m excited to get out and, travel around and visit different countries.
To find out what Brett is doing, click over to www.hellings.music and if you’re out in L.A., see him at Whisky A-Go-Go on May 6th
Until next time, See you… Out there!
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