Brooke Greenberg started to sing as soon as she could talk.
At 7, Greenberg, now a sophomore, went to an open-casting call, found an agent and a voice teacher and started performing in musical theater. While watching Taylor Swift’s “Love Song” music video at 13, she became inspired to learn guitar and write her own songs. She has been writing her own music ever since.
“You Already Knew” is known
Under the stage name Brooke Alexx, Greenberg has released her first single, “You Already Knew,” on iTunes. The song dropped Feb. 14. In the first 24 hours it sold about 200 copies, and more than 600 people watched the music video.
“I’d say [the single has been doing] pretty well,” Greenberg said. “Everyone has been Snapchatting and texting me that they love it, and my friends and family have been sharing it on Facebook.”
Lyrics such as “All this time you were just using me,” “All your lies, I foolishly believed” and a repetitive chorus of “You already knew” come from her life experiences.
“The song is about a boy I was with who already knew he was going to end it the whole time,” Greenberg said. “I’ve been told the song is more pop with a hint of country. I’d describe it as an edgy, I’m-better-off-without-you anthem.”
Greenberg wrote the single fall 2013 and said it is her favorite both lyrically and melodically. She performed it in “Electric Ensemble,” both a course and a band in which students perform their original works as a group, and it was received well by the audience.
The reception was so positive that she decided to record it.
“Having a song on iTunes has always been a goal of mine, something on my bucket list,” Greenberg said. “Just to have my own original music out there, it’s so exciting. I’m just excited for my friends and family to hear it and see what they think, but you never know who could see it. If you don’t put yourself out there, nothing can happen.”
A little help from my friends
Her friend Spencer Clarke, a senior and member of Elon’s all-male a cappella group, Rip_Chord, recorded and mixed for her. He started working with Greenberg through Limelight Records, an on-campus record label, during her first year at Elon.
“At the time, Brooke’s songwriting wasn’t really up to par, so there weren’t enough good songs for a full album,” Clarke said. “After a year of classes and some management changes on her end, we agreed to just work on a single of her best song, ‘You Already Knew.’”
Like Greenberg, Clarke agrees that this was the best choice for her first single.
“It checks all the right boxes for being popular music, and it could certainly make it to the radio if she knew the right people,” he said.
The recording process began in January with the creation of scratch tracks, or throwaway recordings, of Greenberg on guitar and voice.
Clark then added members from the Electric Ensemble to the track, with senior Jack Garno on guitar and bass, senior Jake Valente on drums, junior Addison Horner on synthesizer and senior Jess Riloff on backup vocals.
Having so many members to record made scheduling difficult. The musicians had to find times when everyone was free and when the recording studio was open.
“Some days, the recording studio would be already booked weeks in advance,” Clarke said. “So we took my equipment down to the audio suites in the School of Communications and recorded down there.”
A Winter Term of work
Clarke spent his Winter Term 2015 weekends mixing the song and sending it to friends and alumni of the music department for feedback. It went through five rounds of reviews before it was ready.
To help get the word out, Greenberg contacted Elon alumnus Matt Carter ’13 to design the album cover art and Facebook cover photo. Then, during the summer, seniors Julia Boyd and Cappy Leonard contacted Greenberg to ask if she wanted to do a music video that they could add to their portfolio. It worked out perfectly for both parties.
“They were very accommodating and professional,” Greenberg said. “I loved working with them.”
The “You Already Knew” music video features familiar spots around campus. It begins in The Oak House, where Greenberg is scribbling lyrics. The rest flashes between Greenberg performing with the band and scenes of a relationship between Greenberg and a young man, played by senior Jordan Roman, falling apart.
The music video can be found on Greenberg’s YouTube channel “BrookeAlexx” along with various covers she has recorded, including “Take Me Home” by Cash Cash and “Stay With Me” by Sam Smith.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VuP_-W5_hE[/embed]Planning out the release of the single was the hardest part, but also the most rewarding.
“It was difficult because I had to put everything together,” Greenberg said. “But that was also my favorite part. I love being hands-on and doing things myself, so I’m glad I had basically all the power in determining everything from the plot of the music video to the date everything would be released.”
Greenberg has written many other songs during her career. Her first, written when she was a sophomore in high school, is called “Your Song,” which was inspired by her father.
She hopes to record another this semester, assuming she can get the whole team together again.
Keeping with the beat
Since this is Greenberg’s first recorded song, she still has plenty to learn as an artist, but Clarke said she has potential.
“I think Brooke still has a lot to learn in terms of songwriting, but if everything in her future gets better than this, I think she has the potential to have a lot of success in popular music,” he said. “Her voice is unreal.”
On campus, Greenberg is involved with different forms of music. She sings with the a cappella group Sweet Signatures, which allows her to practice singing while surrounded by a group that supports her.
“It’s my favorite thing I’m involved with on campus,” Greenberg said. “Our friendships are very real, and I love that it’s such a tight-knit group of girls, and we all get to do what we love together. It’s a special thing, and I am lucky to be a part of it.”
Greenberg has also signed with Limelight Music Group, Elon’s promotional group for up-and-coming musicians. She may be doing shows throughout the spring as well.
For now, she will continue to write and create what she can.
“I love that lyrics and melody can convey what words can’t,” Greenberg said. “It’s an outlet to express my emotions when words alone fail.”