Artist Interview
Kat Edmonson
Kat Edmonson
Photograph by Paul Merryman
The 24-year-old Austin singer created a grassroots phenomenon with her song and video “Be the Change” (written and produced with collaborator Kevin Lovejoy), which has garnered radio and television play, become a top local seller, and received more than 60,000 hits on YouTube. “Be The Change” YouTube video.
What was the impetus for this song?
A desire I had to motivate people to vote in the presidential election. I feel like many other people right now: that there needs to be an immense change in our country and in the way we approach things.
Yet it’s a positive message.
My idea was to create a positive chorus with a very simple message, which, incidentally, is not my own. It’s actually Gandhi’s: Be the change you wish to see in the world. The idea of the song isn’t just to discuss what is happening; it’s actually to get people moving.
And what happened when you released it?
We first put it on YouTube. I sent it to my friends, and Kevin sent it to his friends, and then we checked back on the site and thousands of people had already watched within a week, like 20,000 people. And I received, within a week, some one hundred e-mails from people telling me how moved they were. That was exciting. I didn’t expect such a turnout.
My Library
