After scoring a smash with Macklemore & Ryan Lewis on “Same Love,” Mary Lambert made her Capitol Records debut on Oct. 14 with Heart on My Sleeve, led by “Secrets,” which reached No. 72 on the Billboard Hot 100. But Lambert, 25, is far from furtive about the songs and stars that influenced her album.
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Katy Perry, “Teenage Dream”
“It’s the most quintessential pop song that you can write. I’m like a Katy Perry scientist. I like to study her career because I think we actually have a lot of similarities. Her product manager is my product manager. I think our writing styles [are similar].”
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Tori Amos, “Cornflake Girl”
“It’s really smart instrumentation: The song is crafted around her writing. I know that’s obvious, but sometimes the production doesn’t really reflect that. That’s why I sought out Eric Rosse. He produced that song, and I was like, ‘You’re going to do that for me [on my album]!'”
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Sara Bareilles, “Manhattan”
“It’s just so beautiful and gut-wrenching. She captured such a clear thought in this one song. It’s heartbreak done in a way so that you know it’s devastatingly sad, but it’s not presented that way. That’s why it’s so good — it’s kind of like a hidden sad.”
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Arcade Fire, “Wake Up”
“I was studying what makes a Grammy-nominated album a Grammy-nominated album; I want to make one — dude, I’m hungry for that. [Arcade Fire] crafts incredible albums. They’re not just looking for the hit or what the label is looking for. It’s about the artistry.”
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This article first appeared in the Nov. 1 issue of Billboard.