My Favorite Album: Chelsea Collins

WOW there are so many iconic albums to choose from that it’s super hard to pick a favorite. Growing up my mom would play her old jams from Queen to the Beatles, Linda Ronstadt to the Thriller album, and those songs inspired me as a songwriter. Some of the first albums I bought on my own were the No Doubt Tragic Kingdom album, Gwen Stefani’s Love Angel Music Baby, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Kanye, literally every single Britney Spears song and album [laughs], Speak Now by Taylor Swift… etc, and the list goes on.

But I have to say, there is one album I would always play while mobbing in my mom’s red minivan and it was Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream. All the songs are so perfect. When I listen to that album I see the whole visual of all the storylines in my head. Katy served iconic visuals for that album and alongside her, Max Martin is also one of my biggest idols. Teenage Dream introduced me to Max Martin production when I was 9 or 10 years old and it inspired me to want to start writing and also producing.

In early business meetings, I always said “I really want to be like Katy Perry and Max Martin combined,” as my passion for creating my own artistry is just as strong as my passion for loving the art of creating pop music in general. They both embody that!

The album also takes me back to a youthful, free and innocent time in my life. It instantly puts a big smile on my face whenever I hear a song from it. My favorites are “The One That Got Away” and “Teenage Dream.” When I hear these songs I can envision them being in any era of music, from original to Dolly Parton form and beyond. These songs pass the campfire test which is basically if I can love a song acoustically as much as the fully produced version then I believe it is a timeless song.

I’m a person who has absolutely no shame in loving pop. Pop music is so pleasing and what I’ve studied and loved since I was a little girl.