Brandon and The Clubs spread the love on newest album

Alyssa Bunde
Staff Writer

Growing up, we all had big dreams, ranging from becoming astronauts to being ballerinas. One Minnesota State University, Mankato student is putting their dreams into motion.

Brandon Weidman, or known by his stage name of Brandon and The Clubs, always dreamed of being a pop star and this Valentine’s day he will be releasing his first pop album, “The Love Club”. Weidman’s album will be dropping Feb. 14 on all major streaming services, from Spotify to Pandora to Apple Music. In addition, Weidman will be throwing a release party from 7-9 p.m., Saturday at The Coffee Hag, located on Riverfront Drove. There, he will be performing and giving background context to the album. In addition, Weidman will sell $5 physical copies of his album.

Weidman explained this first album is all about self-love and positivity. He said, “Each one of these songs on the album has to do with different types of love. Some are desire, some deal with learning to love your insecurities, and some are giving the F you to the haters. So there’s something on the album for everyone.”

Growing up Weidman’s music playlists were filled with pop stars like Lady Gaga, Ke$ha, and Marina and The Diamonds. He credits these artists for the inspiration of his current musical work. Weidman explains he’s always favored pop music over other genres but the motivation to put these ambitions into play didn’t happen until later. He states, “I’ve always been in choirs from a young age. I did a lot of singing and theater. Then when I got into college I just really wanted to write.” However, getting to this point, of releasing the album, has been a long process for “The Love Club” singer.

He explains the first song he wrote for the album was actually written two and a half years ago. The albums other songs were written, produced, and mixed within the past year. Weidman, in regards to the album’s lengthy process, stated, “I’m glad I took the time to make sure it was really what I wanted it to be. I wrote a lot of songs, but only picked the best ones.”

Looking at Weidman now, with his vivacious personality and big smiles, it’s easy to think he’s always been this confident and open about who he is. However, this was not always the case. Weidman stated that growing up he hid many aspects of who he really was.

He explained the toll of hiding his sexuality during his younger years, “not being able to love for so many years or express love didn’t bug me until I got to college and realized, ‘wow people are cool with it, you can express it!” Weidman continued, “Not being able to find that teenage love you see in those Netflix movies or not being able to go to homecoming or prom with a guy kinda hit me hard. So the album kind of stems from me wanting people to feel loved, and I think a lot of people don’t always feel that.”

Weidman today still faces criticism and even experienced an unpleasant incident while shooting a music video for the album. Weidman stated, “I had people shouting vulgar and mean comments. But I basically just asked them nicely to leave us alone. I was truly hurt by what happened because you’d think we’ve gotten to a point where things like that wouldn’t happen.”

Reflecting upon the incident Weidman stated, “I think a lot of people hate because they’re insecure within themselves or not used to things being different. Words are so powerful. So if I can show people that I can do it, hopefully, they feel the courage that they can do it too.”

With the release of his first album approaching quickly, Weidman seemed to lack much of any nerves, and in their place was optimism. He stated, “There’s obviously more things I could have done, but I also think it’s important to never be too hard on yourself. I’m just proud of the body of work that’s going to be coming out. I put my body and soul into it and so I hope people like it.”

He finished by explaining, “I may not be making millions, but I’m doing something I love.”

Weidman’s album and its message are positive, and in a time where it seems we’ve all accepted our daily gloom, we all might benefit from remembering the fact that our childhood dreams don’t have to end.

Header photo courtesy of Brandon Weidman.