Singer/songwriter and Atwood artist-to-watch Sebastian Schub tells us what it really means to “Sing Like Madonna” in a candid, in-depth conversation about pursuing one’s dreams, writing songs from the heart, and his major label big break!
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Stream: “Sing Like Madonna” – Sebastian Schub
I always find songwriting to be a little bit like walking into a room with the lights switched off. Arms stretched out, trying to figure out where I am.
It’s not often an artist’s first song expresses everything they could want to say right off the bat.
Sebastian Schub is, in that respect, one of the lucky ones: The German-born, London-based singer/songwriter’s major label debut single is a defining, seminal mission statement – an emphatic, emotionally charged declaration of intent full of fire and fury, unfiltered passion and raw, visceral feeling. An uncompromising, unapologetic eruption of desire and unflinching determination, “Sing Like Madonna” is a sonically and emotionally charged anthem – a vulnerable unveiling of the one’s hopes and dreams, and the perfect introduction to Sebastian Schub.
I wanna sing like Madonna
I wanna dance like a queen
Don’t want to look at the stars
I want them looking at me
I wanna move like Freddie and kiss the sun
Scream “Hallelujah,” bang Springsteen’s drums
I wanna be louder than everyone
I wanna live in a house by the water
I wanna have one son and 16 daughters
I wanna sing like Madonna
I wanna sing like Madonna
I wanna sing like Madonna
Released October 11, 2024 via Island EMI Label Group/Capitol Records, “Sing Like Madonna” is a breathtakingly bold folk rock fever dream – and a real-life “breakout” story in the making. Following years of busking and gig work as a function and session musician, Sebastian Schub was reaching his breaking point. He wasn’t satisfied with where he was in his career, but the dream of “making it” in music was starting to feel all the more elusive and dreamlike.
So like any great songwriter, he poured his angst and anxiety, and all that inner turmoil and tension, into a song. The resulting tune ached from the inside out, capturing both the pain Schub was feeling at the time, as well as his unwavering passion for his chosen craft. It was catchy and cathartic all at once – and when Schub posted a snippet of the song to social media, people quickly caught on.
“I wrote ‘Sing Like Madonna’ last summer over three months in my basement,” Schub tells Atwood Magazine. “At the time I was busy gigging a few times a week. And I was growing increasingly despondent and disillusioned in the pursuit of the dream. The song was born from a desire to mean something, to be able to leave a mark.”
Hey, little boy, where have you been?
Have you grown up or can you still dream?
With every day I feel less like me
Well, it’s the lifе that was meant for me
Well, it’s the lifе that was meant for me
I wanna sing like Madonna
I wanna dance like a queen
Don’t want to look at the stars
I want them looking at me
I wanna move like Freddie and kiss the sun, scream “Hallelujah,” bang Springsteen’s drums. I wanna be louder than everyone…
Times may have been tough and the weight was hanging heavy on his shoulders, but Schub’s drive never faltered – and it’s that inner light, burning and raging within him, that makes “Sing Like Madonna” so irresistible and undeniable.
Co-produced alongside Steve Fitzmaurice (Sam Smith) at RAK Studios in London, “Sing Like Madonna” is not the “beginning” of Schub’s music career – far from it, in fact – but it is the start of a bold new chapter in his story, that he will be sharing not just with passersby on London’s busy streets, but with the whole world – anyone who cares to tune in, from far and wide.
I wanna live in a house by the water
I wanna have one son and 16 daughters
I wanna sing like Madonna
I wanna sing like Madonna (oh, you stupid boy)
I wanna sing like Madonna (oh, you stupid boy)
Atwood Magazine recently caught up with Sebastian Schub for a candid, in-depth conversation about the long and winding road to his major label debut and what it really means to “sing like Madonna” (hint: it’s really, really loud). Dive into our interview below as the singer/songwriter introduces himself and offers a special glimpse into his personal songwriting process, and stay tuned for much more to come from Schub in the months ahead.
“Songwriting is quite an abstract thing,” Schub says. “Glen Hansard once described it as trying to lure a bird through a window into a cage – which is quite accurate, I think. One rarely ends up where one intended to go, and most songs end up being a compromise. ‘Sing Like Madonna’ for me is one of the rare ones that really expresses exactly what I wanted it to.”
Read on below as we get to know this indisputable artist to watch.
One thing we know for sure: Sebastian Schub is shooting for the moon, and he’s sure to land amongst the stars.
Oh, by God, let me be pretty, let me be smart
Oh, by God, let me be pretty, let me be smart
Oh, by God, let me be pretty, let me be smart
Oh, by God, let me be pretty, let me be smart
I wanna live in a house by the water
I wanna have one son and 16 daughters
I wanna sing like Madonna
Wanna sing like Madonna
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:: stream/purchase Sing Like Madonna here ::
:: connect with Sebastian Schub here ::
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Stream: “Sing Like Madonna” – Sebastian Schub
A CONVERSATION WITH SEBASTIAN SCHUB
Atwood Magazine: Great to meet you, Sebastian! For those just getting to know you today, who is Sebastian Schub, and how would you describe your music?
Sebastian Schub: I guess you could say it’s a little bit like if Hozier and Jeff Buckley had a little, adopted, German son.
When did you start songwriting? How did you get into that as a means of expression?
Sebastian Schub: I started when I was 18. There was a cool little music bar in London call Spiritual Bar I wanted to play at, but they only allowed original music. I didn’t have any, so I went away and wrote a bunch of quite terrible songs. Luckily the owner of the bar let me keep playing anyway.
Who are some of your favourite songwriters, and what do you find you gravitate toward most in a song?
Sebastian Schub: The first writer I really gravitated towards was Glen Hansard. There is something so committed and intensely emotive about his writing and performance. He leaves nothing on the plate. The stakes are always high. I love that.
Do you remember the first song you were really proud of? What was it and what about it made you proud?
Sebastian Schub: I wrote a song called “Paradise” a few years ago. Back then I used to busk a lot and though I was mainly playing covers I would on occasion try out my own songs just to see how people would react. “Paradise” was the first original song that actually made people come up to me and ask what the song was.
The road to a major label signing is long and arduous for most artists – even when it seems “easy” on the outside; what has your journey been like to get here?
Sebastian Schub: It was certainly a strife. But I’ve been quite lucky in that I’ve always been able to work as a musician. Be it as a busker or a function or session musician. Since I was 17, I’ve always been able to be a working musician and practice my craft. My best friend is an actor and it’s much harder to do that on a day-to-day basis. There is something incredibly reaffirming about being able to go into my room, pick up a guitar, and write a song – knowing this is what I do. I’m really grateful for that.
What's the story behind “Sing Like Madonna,” and why did you choose to release this as your “debut” single?
Sebastian Schub: I wrote the song in my basement last summer. It took me about 3 months to finish it, which is quite typical for me. I tend to spend a lot of time on rewriting and distilling a song over and over. I would have probably kicked things off with this song regardless of it having a moment online, but that was definitely a big factor in the decision to lead with it.
You’ve talked about feeling “increasingly despondent and disillusioned in the pursuit of the dream” when you first wrote this song, and now it’s your official first release on a major label! Firstly, how is the disillusionment going these days? How are you feeling about the dream?
Sebastian Schub: I think it’s just wonderful to be able to do the work. That’s what anyone in this industry dreams of. To be put to work. For someone to go, “Here are all the resources you might need, now go forth and make something. Give me your best shot.”
Secondly, there’s a twisted irony in this, of all songs, being your major label debut. Has it helped you at all with that desire to mean something and leave a mark?
Sebastian Schub: Yeah it is kind of funny, that this of all songs is the one to catch. I’ve received a lot of wonderful messages from friends and strangers about what the song means to them, and I’m really glad that this song has uncovered common ground between us all.
I’ve received a lot of wonderful messages from friends and strangers about what the song means to them, and I’m really glad that this song has uncovered common ground between us all.
“Sing Like Madonna” is such an energetic and spirited song – sonically, what were you going for with this song? What was your vision for it, if any?
Sebastian Schub: Especially because the song is so energetic and ambitious, it was really important to me for the record to stay grounded. I think there is a rawness and vulnerability that came from recording the initial demo on my own, in my basement that was incredibly important to keep a hold off. So a lot the original demo recordings such as the piano and the backing vocals ended up in the final record.
However, being able to finish the song in a proper studio rather than in my basement was wonderful. Both for the quality of sound and even more so for being able to have my friends play on the record. For some of the people that have played such an important part in my musical journey for so long to be on this song is quite special I think. I know every hand that has clapped on this record, and I love that.
What does it mean, for you, to “sing like Madonna”?
Sebastian Schub: Oh. Just really, really loud.
I love all of your song’s references – from Madonna and ABBA to Freddie Mercury and Bruce Springsteen, you found a clever way to tell a personal story. What was your experience like writing it, and was that part of the concept, or did it develop over time?
Sebastian Schub: I had just seen Springsteen perform at Hyde Park when I was writing the song and he was just so otherworldly. He played for three hours straight, what a beast. I think artists and bands like these have managed to transcend their medium – they and their work have resonated so far and wide they have reached almost divine status in our minds.
At that time, I felt really stuck in my little London bedroom playing to the wall, and more than anything I just wanted to be part of what I saw in Hyde Park.
I really love that cathartic release at the end where you sing, “Oh, by God, let me be pretty, let me be smart.” What does this finale represent, for you?
Sebastian Schub: Oh that’s when the song really came together for me. I always find songwriting to be a little bit like walking into a room with the lights switched off. Arms stretched out, trying to figure out where I am.
For most of the writing process, I only have a vague idea of what the song is really about. Until it clicks. When I wrote that bridge, the weight of the song really hit me for the first time. It can be really easy to lose myself in the joy of clever imagery, metaphors, and pretty words. Especially in a song like this, that is so riddled with larger than life language, it was important to find a grounded nucleus – that is what took the most time.
Do you have any favourite lyrics or lines from this track?
Sebastian Schub: It’s got to be the 1 son and 16 daughters line. I spent a good month changing the number of sons and daughters around, back and forth. It was heavily discussed around the dinner table.
What do you love most about this song, and what do you hope listeners take away from it?
Sebastian Schub: Songwriting is quite an abstract thing. Glen Hansard once described it as trying to lure a bird through a window into a cage. Which is quite accurate I think. One rarely ends up where one intended to go. And most songs end up being a compromise. “Sing Like Madonna” for me is one of the rare ones that really expresses exactly what I wanted it to.
“Sing Like Madonna” for me is one of the rare ones that really expresses exactly what I wanted it to.
Lastly, who are you listening to these days, that you would recommend to our readers?
Sebastian Schub: Leif Vollebekk is INCREDIBLE. Just a special writer and musician. I have listened to no one more. He has just released a new album called Revelation. His song “Elegy” was my intro into his world back in 2018. But honestly just go on a deep dive. Leif Vollebekk. I promise you won’t regret it.
I’m also inviting artists to share with us their “best music of 2024”! Would you mind sharing your favourite...
Album of 2024: This album actually came out right at the end of 2023 – but Light, Dark, Light Again by Angie McMahon has been playing back to front in my room every single day this year.
Song of 2024: When “Tiny Moves” by Bleachers plays in our kitchen, you know it’s gonna be a good day. An incredible song. That entire album is stunning.
Artist Discovery of 2024: Hohnen Ford is doing wonderful things. Her song “I wish I had a God” is breathtaking. One to watch for sure.
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:: stream/purchase Sing Like Madonna here ::
:: connect with Sebastian Schub here ::
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Stream: “Sing Like Madonna” – Sebastian Schub
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© Emelia Staugaard
© Emelia Staugaard
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