Hotly tipped singer/songwriter Mikky Ekko has revealed the story behind his Top Ten Rihanna duet “Stay” to Gigwise.com, claiming that the track he wrote relates to her personal life as much as it does to his.
Ekko is currently enjoying his first taste of chart success, having hit the UK charts alongside the Barbadian star on the track he wrote. However, he admits that he was initially ‘freaked out’ when he heard that she had recorded the track, because the track had such personal meanings to him.
“The track had become so special to me as well, and knowing what the track means to me and what I think it means to her too, it really worked,” Ekko tells. “It speaks to such an intimate side of her that is so rare and so far removed from what people think of her.”
“I met up with some of her people in LA. She came out, we met, we hugged and talked for a minute about the song, she said ‘oh, just so you know I’ve cut the vocal,’ and I was like ‘WHOA!’ and of course I said ‘that’s no problem’ — even though I was a little freaking out.”
Ekko, who is tipped as one of the big names of 2013 and has recently released his own track “Pull Me Down’, also reveals how working on a project such as Rihanna’s “Unapologetic” album, was an eye-opener for a rising artist still working on his debut album.
“Their pace is insane,” he adds. “They had the studios we were working in booked out for three months, on a cycle. There were people constantly coming in and out, in and out, and it was so crazy to be in that room and that headspace. It was like nothing I had ever experienced before.”
He also reveals that working on such a project served as inspiration to push himself to hit similar a similar work ethic of the “We Found Love” chart topper with his solo material.
“It had put a drive in me to really push myself to work harder,” he continues. “I want to work harder than everyone else.
“There is a buddy of mine who is in the military and one of his commanding officers told him that you always act the job of the person ahead of you, so that if it is ever given to you, nobody ever questions it.”
“I wanted to work harder than everyone, for things to do well and for no one to question how hard i’m working. It was cool to see that — and see what it really looks like when people are busting their asses off. It’s amazing to see.”
Watch again Rihanna performing “Stay” at “Saturday Night Live” below:
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