Biloxi, MS is hardly the destination that springs to mind when thinking of cutting-edge queer pop, but that is exactly where it all started for producer-songwriter-deejay Leland (Brett Leland McLaughlin). MTV (Total Request Live) reached him during his precious 90-minute after-school window, and he got the bug. He has since worked with artists including Selina Gomez, Andy Grammer, Kelsea Ballerini, Allie X, Charlie XCX, Demi Lovato, and many more, with his success built on patience and humility.
“There was a sacred window of time by myself when I would come home from high school,” shares Leland. “Those were very formative years of falling in love with all types of pop. [It was] the first time I saw on TV what felt like people like me, a community passionate about music whose lives do not revolve around religion. I didn’t feel alone; there was possibility and community.”
Buying stacks of CDs and studying credits, he developed songwriting ideas at the piano. Gigs up and down the Gulf followed, before studying commercial voice at Belmont University, which Leland says was “the best next step for finding people like me [and] starting my process of writing hundreds of terrible songs to finally get to good ones.” Students showcased country, rock, and pop, and Leland loved helping. “It was training ground for what I do now. Whether writing country, or on Drag Race, that training diversified the music I was writing.”
A student at Belmont when he secured his first publishing deal (which came by way of a casino cocktail waitress he sang with in church in Mississippi), he spent a year writing what he calls terrible songs. “Maybe one out of every 30 or 40 songs was okay,” he says. “They all got gradually better.” Circling back with the label, he signed to publishing with John Platt at EMI. His first cut did not come for another seven years.
Troye Sivan inspired Leland using same sex pronouns in their first studio session. “Being this version of myself, I can’t imagine not doing that,” says Leland. “I started feeling comfortable and didn’t have to filter.” Initially feeling need to overcompensate for being gay (something he says exists for many queer songwriters), friends JHart, Sarah Hudson, Jessie Saint John, and Ross Golan helped. “If we weren’t these versions of ourselves, we would never have written ‘DJ Play A Christmas Song’ for Cher. Troye’s music wouldn’t exist with the same honesty and lyricism people have connected to if we hadn’t had journeys with our sexuality.”
Ru Paul’s Drag Race started because a friend needed a change after almost 10 years. Thirty-plus seasons later, Leland says, “I love that I get to say my full-time job is RuPaul’s Drag Race, and also write songs with friends and artists. Drag is innately a protest of the norm, how society thinks you need to present yourself. I feel really lucky. It doesn’t feel divisive, it feels beautiful, full of joy.” Adds Leland, “When it’s lighter, it can sneak into places it normally wouldn’t if it was too serious. That’s the beauty of Drag Race.”
As for studio writing, Leland says, “It doesn’t need to be this serious energy. Let the room breathe, let everyone feel they’re being heard. If you are a good listener, a good communicator, you’re going to be liked and the energy is gonna be great. Opportunities will not all come at once [and] success is about being able to pay your bills doing music. There is no shame in getting a job. Songwriters are the last to get paid, [so] set yourself up to not be financially stressed.” Ultimately, he says, “The secret is sticking it out until you find people that see you and recognize you for your value.”
Signed to Vertigo Berlin/Universal Music Germany as a singer in December 2017, Leland began as resident songwriter/producer for RuPauls’ Drag Race the same year. With an exclusive set at WeHo Pride’s OUTLAND Music Festival, he deejays at World Pride Music Festival in Amsterdam August 1. Feature film Stop That Train is out now (youtube.com/watch?v=yx2YuoAnwlQ).
Contact Sydney Worden - 2b Entertainment / sydney@2bentertainment.net
Visit instagram.com/leland
Photo by Michael Ian
