In between writing songs with pop stars including Dua Lipa and Demi Lovato, alternative artist UPSAHL also featured on a 2021 Mike Shinoda single called “Happy Endings.” In working with the Linkin Park member, UPSAHL tells ABC Audio she felt “the most insane imposter syndrome.”
“I was like, ‘Mike Shinoda wants to write with me?'” she recalls. “‘Weird, but I’m down.'”
UPSAHL thought she’d just be a writer on “Happy Endings” before Shinoda suggested she sing on it, too.
“[Shinoda said], ‘I tried thinking of some features, like, girls to sing the part that you tracked, but I really just like your voice on it, you should stay on it,'” UPSAHL shares. “And I was like, ‘This is the coolest day of my life.'”
And UPSAHL wasn’t the only one who was excited about the collaboration.
“My dad, who’s a big Linkin Park fan, was like, ‘This is so crazy!'” she says.
Before you get upset about the fact that someone old enough to be a father of a professional musician is a Linkin Park fan, the band did just put out a 20th anniversary reissue of their Meteora album in 2023.
Anyway, UPSAHL adds that Shinoda is “so big on being a mentor for a lot of young artists.”
“We’ve stayed in touch and he’s been so helpful,” she says.
UPSAHL will launch a U.S. headlining tour in September.
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