Singer Polina has created hits in the EDM world with artists like Kaskade, Laidback Luke, Steve Aoki and Tiësto but it’s the writing and singing credits on Eminem’s ‘Legacy’ which is keeping her in the news.
The Moscow born, New York raised singer lent her silky vocals on the chorus of the Marshall Mathers LP 2 standout which is one of our favorite tracks on the album. HHNM recently chatted with the talented artist about her roots, the background story behind ‘Legacy’ and her upcoming projects.
HHNM: Tell us something about your background.
Polina: I was born in Moscow, Russia but most of my upbringing and working on music has been in New York. Most of my fan base know me from my Electronic Dance Music, but I’m classically trained in Piano and have done all kinds of music.
HHNM: What’s the history behind ‘Legacy’ and how did you end up being featured on it?
Poina: Well, I’ve written for other artists from the world of Hip-Hop. Sean Kingston is one of them — I co-wrote his hit ‘Sleep All Day, Party All Night’. I was just working on my own stuff when my publicist set up a session with this writer named David Brook in New York. We got together and did some things, it was a rainy day in New York. We sat down on the piano and an hour later, we came out of the room with this melody called ‘Legacy’. I was just that magic, came out of no where.
I was doing a lot of EDM at that time so this was a lil different and interesting but we didn’t know what to do with it. Fast forward to a few months later, I ended up in the Interscope offices. I played the song for Neil Jacobson, who was working on the Eminem album at that time. Thirty seconds into the song, he told me he wants the song for Eminem. He then sent it to Emile Haynie who produced ‘Legacy’. He had previously worked with Em and other great artists. Emile loved the song and the next week, I was back in New York in the studio with him and David as they were putting the final touches on the song. Emile then sent it to Eminem and after a while, we heard from Em’s camp that they really love the song and want it for the new album. It really was a long process because the song was almost 2 years old. It was almost a year and half of silence and it wasn’t until a couple of weeks before the album was released that I found out that not only did the song made the album but my original vocals were used as well.
HHNM: So your original vocals as you recorded a couple of years ago are the same on the final version of the song?
Polina: Yeah, that was the surprise. It was a full song that I did as a demo and the final version has the same vocals from my original song. I did not expect my vocals that I originally cut will make the album. It’s happened a few times to me that when you cut the initial vocals on the song and write the song, the spirit and energy is something different from when you go into a proper studio later and try to recreate it. Sometimes, you just can’t match the vibe. That’s probably what happened with this one.
HHNM: Your voice sounds perfect on the song. Em usually doesn’t collaborate with traditional R&B singers so I thought it suited Em’s verses really well. What are some of your influences in music?
Polina: I have a varied sound and too many influences to name. I didn’t start with EDM but that’s what most of my fans know me for. Some may think I’m stepping out a bit but in reality, I’ve always been a singer-songwriter and written all kind of songs. It’s all about songs connecting at the end of the day. It’s all about writing good songs, the lines of genres are so blurred now. It’s an exciting time in music. I have a classic piano background but I’ve had success in the EDM world so it’s all kind of same to me. I was really blessed to end up on a song with Eminem, someone who has a massive fan base around the world. But I think my favorite song growing up was Michael Jackson’s ‘Bad’ (laughs).
HHNM: What are you working on currently?
Polina: I’ve been working hard on my solo stuff. My first single is set to release end of this year and I’m planning to shoot a video soon. It’s called ‘Fade To Love’ and it’s produced by an Italian producer. I’m super excited to share it with the world. There will be an EP which will be followed up by a full length album. I have exciting collaborations in the pipeline with EDM artists and others. The album will be EDM influenced but I’m going towards the indie Pop sound.
Discussion about this post