Bleu has contributed to gold- and platinum-selling records and worked with everyone from Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato to the Jonas Brothers and the B-52s’ Kate Pierson. He’s also found success composing and producing music for film and TV. So when someone in the music business offers their definition a potential hit, Bleu can certainly understand the reasoning. In fact, “This Song Won’t Sell”—the latest single from his new LP, Sargeant Pepper Grinder (Miracle)—was inspired by such real-life nuggets of (sometimes misguided) wisdom.
“Most full-time songwriters and/or producers will run into some version of this if they stick around long enough,” says Bleu. “But it can feel unfairly antithetical to the creative process—especially in moments of heightened sadness, which, sadly, is often when we write our best songs. So this is my ode to all the other songwriters who have to wrestle with art versus commerce.”
Bleu kicked off his career on a high note when his 2002 single, “Somebody Else,” landed on the multiplatinum Spider-Man soundtrack. His subsequent career as a composer and producer has encompassed collaborations with Hanson, Michelle Branch, John Oates, Big Freedia and several prominent K-pop acts. Bleu’s music has appeared various television series, and his work in synchronization led to an accredited graduate course on the subject at his alma mater, Boston’s Berklee College Of Music. More recently, he’s branched out into scoring, including Emmy-nominated work on The Golden Boy, HBO’s 2023 documentary on boxing champion Oscar De La Hoya
Given that impressive portfolio, a certain juicy irony looms over “This Song Won’t Sell”—one that certainly isn’t lost on Bleu. And its accompanying video reflects a similar determination to go against the grain in subtle ways.
“I’m a lyric geek, so I adore reading along to the music,” he says. “But some lyric videos feel pretty boring.”
Bleu’s solution: Project the lyrics directly onto his face, an idea he’d previously explored visually for the cover of his 2013 To Hell With You album. During an initial test, when his iPhone’s autofocus reacted unpredictably to the extreme light-and-dark contrasts, he simply made it part of the aesthetic.
“I actually loved what it was doing, and I specifically adjusted the edit with that in mind,” says Bleu. “It had to be one take, of course, so it took a few tries to get it right. But I think it ‘sells’ ‘This Song Won’t Sell’ perfectly.”
We’re proud to premiere Bleu’s “This Song Won’t Sell” video. Sargeant Pepper Grinder is out now.
See Bleu live.
—Hobart Rowland
