Open Heart: An Interview with Mary Lambert

Gregg Shapiro

Mary Lambert is nothing if not grateful for her newfound popularity. The out singer/songwriter and performance poet’s swift and meteoric rise to fame occurred via her collaboration with the duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis on the groundbreaking song “Same Love.” A YouTube sensation and hit single, the song received Grammy Award nominations, and was performed live during the Grammy telecast, featuring a mass-wedding including several same-gender couples. Shortly thereafter, Lambert released the Welcome To The Age of My Body EP, featuring “She Keeps Me Warm,” a song that expanded on her contribution to “Same Love.” I spoke Lambert in about her career and new album, Heart On My Sleeve (Capitol), out this month.

Mary, I’m sure you’ve been asked about your Grammy performance with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis a million times, but now that there is some distance between that night and now, what was the experience like for you?

It’s a life-altering experience. Performing for that many people and being nominated for a Grammy is pivotal enough for an individual. But what the song stands for and what I’m singing about and what I’ve written… that, to me, is more gratifying. The actual content and the social impact; it was life-changing for me. I feel so fortunate that this is the song that will be remembered for years to come. I feel very lucky that it’s the song for which I will be known for sure.

Your religious upbringing also plays a role in your artistic life. What kind of an impact do you think your work is now having, if any at all, on conservative religious organizations with which you have been involved?

I’m not sure if it has. There are churches that have reached out. I do think Christianity and the whole evangelical sect is in a shift right now … towards the idea of gay marriage.

Heart On My Sleeve opens with “Secrets,” a song that does a fantastic job of exhibiting your sense of humor. How important do you think it is to maintain a sense of humor as an artist?

I don’t think it is for everybody. I know it is important for me. I think the topics I talk about can be really heavy. I’d like there to be some sense of relief through it so I’m not making everybody cry through an entire show. There’s some joy in it, too. It’s probably because I’m clinically bipolar. Part of being an extreme person is the capacity for extreme joy. Fun, tongue-in-cheek writing also has the capacity to be vulnerable, maybe heartbreaking writing as well.

Guest rappers on tracks are nothing new and your song “Ribcage” features K. Flay and queer rapper Angel Haze. Why did you choose to work with them?

I’m a huge fan of both of those women. I met K. Flay about two years ago in Austin during SXSW. I was such a fan of her already and was so excited to meet her. We really hit it off. I have equal admiration for Angel Haze. I think she’s one of the fiercest MCs making music today. I think she’s so on point with her writing and emotional intensity. I resonate with her. What really solidified it was her song, and video, for “Battle Cry,” which I thought was so vulnerable. It was so open of her to discuss trauma in such a way. It shook me in a really beautiful way. That was when I knew I had to have her on the track as well. Throughout the recording process I’d been asked to have multiple rappers on the tracks. I was hesitant to have any rap on because I would like to step out of that capacity in which people know me. But this felt like the absolute right thing to do. It felt so good to have two absolutely f*cking fierce female MCs on it [laughs].

Your torch song reinvention of Rick Springfield’s “Jessie’s Girl” is nothing short of brilliant. You take ownership of the song! Why did you choose to cover that song?

“Jessie’s Girl” is one of my favorite songs [laughs]. There’s intensity behind it when you break down the lyrics. I love that line: “She’s watching him with those eyes/and she’s loving him with that body.” That line is so poetic. I know it’s an upbeat, angsty kind of song, but I just thought, “If you’re a gay person, you’ve undoubtedly had feelings for someone who’s straight.” I also love the non-gender-specific name Jessie.

Do you know if Rick Springfield has heard it and what he thinks of it?

I think he has heard it. I would love to have a conversation with him. I think we’re actually working on setting one up now.

Hearts are a recurring theme on the new disc. You make mention of hearts in the title cut, “Ribcage,” “When You Sleep,” “Wounded Animal,” and “Monochromatic.”

Wow! I honestly didn’t even realize it! I mean, I knew it was the title [laughs]. I didn’t even think about it! I talk a lot about my heart. The heart is a metaphorical thing we describe as the vessel in which we connect to each other. That’s why I write about it a lot. I’m so hungry for connection. I crave real, tangible human interaction. I believe the way to achieve that is vulnerability. The way you achieve vulnerability is to have an open heart. That’s the basis of it. An openness of your soul which I believe is your heart.

Learn more online at marylambertsings.com.