Leon Bridges
Leon Bridges
Leon Bridges is an American gospel and soul singer and songwriter from Fort Worth, Texas. He is best known for his song "Coming Home", which received regular airplay and was also a Top 10 Most Viral Track on Spotify. Bridges's debut album, which is also titled Coming Home, was released on June 23, 2015 on Columbia Records...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionGospel Singer
Date of Birth13 July 1989
CityAtlanta, GA
CountryUnited States of America
I was washing dishes at Del Frisco's Grille and busing tables at a Tex-Mex place and writing songs the whole time. I did a lot of my writing at those jobs, thinking up melodies in my head.
My music is more than me writing a flashy soul song. They're heartfelt songs about my family and true stories. I have also songs that aren't personal, but just painting a picture. I don't like being put under labels, but my music is going to continue to stay classic and timeless forever.
I believe that gospel is more than just a sound, it's a way of life. I don't really have any shame to talk about spirituality in my music. A lot of your favorite soul songs started out in gospel.
Sometimes I start with lyrics - rarely - but sometimes I might have an idea for some lyrics that I wanna say. I write them down and figure out how to use that in a melody to write a song.
I'm not writing just classic-sounding songs, but songs that come from experience.
I don't think I'd be able to flat-out write a pop song and make it satisfying to me. I'm ready to make a consistent sound in whatever way I can.
I think it's good to have a balance. Everything I write about, it's not something I necessarily might have went through, there's songs where I might have an idea, sometimes it might be a melody or something that I like, I make up a story to go with that melody. But I do think it's most important to have honest songs.
There are a lot of bands who would get really big in Fort Worth and play shows on a Friday night that everybody would come out to. But I've never been really big in my hometown. My shows would have 10 or 15 people at them.
My mother and my great-aunt told me stories, like how when my grandfather first met my grandmother at a party, he noticed her long legs and was like, 'Woo woo!' I like to incorporate those stories into my music. They just seem to fit.
I was 10 years old when I first heard Ginuwine. I remember being at a friend's house, and the music video came on. I was just like, 'What is that?' I was just kind of drawn from there.
My mom was very religious. She might have let me buy records, but I assumed that she wouldn't.
My mom is very excited for the fact that I got signed and, of course, being a mom, she's going to be a little worried.
My mom is a very religious woman. So when I began recording music, I was afraid she wouldn't accept it. But when I played her a song, she loved it.
My father would play Stevie Wonder in the car, but that never sunk in.