The voice of Marcus Royce – or Mark Smeby – is one you’ve probably heard somewhere before.
Maybe you’ve heard him narrate an audiobook: after all, he’s recorded over 100 of them. Perhaps you’ve heard his version of the festive classic ‘Mary, Did You Know’ blaring out of a café or coffee shop in your hometown. You know, this version? The one that was the most downloaded Christmas song on Amazon US for three years? Yeah, that’s the one.
Or maybe – just maybe – you’ve been a fan of his original music without even realising it.
The point we’re making is that over the last twenty years, the Minneapolis-based multi-hyphenate has carved out the kind of varied and multi-faceted career that most creatives would kill for.
However, it’s songwriting – and his recently rebranded original artist project – that’s his true passion.
Like the rest of us during the 2020 pandemic, Smeby found himself with a little more time on his hands than he’d originally accounted for. So, he started to think: about his life, his sense of self, and what he wanted from his musical career.
And out of this period of reflection came reinvention. For Mark Smeby, this meant not only a shift in mindset for how he approached his creative career – but the start of a new chapter.
‘I”m grateful for the opportunity the great pause of 2020 gave me to step back from the way I was doing music and get a bit of an objective view of myself and what was working or not. I literally got to the point where I wasn’t sure if I’d ever do music again since it’d all been so physically and mentally exhausting—as most indie artists would attest to, I’m sure! I also discovered that I didn’t have to live my life constantly trying to get the affirmation of other people. I didn’t have anything I had to prove. I basically discovered my true self underneath the broken shell of all the striving, and it was beautiful. I could finally ask, “What do I want?” instead of “What do I think other people want of me.” It was a glorious freedom. Then my heart came alive again to my joy of doing music. But I knew I couldn’t do it the same way.’
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And so, a few weeks ago, Smeby revealed his new artistic persona, Marcus Royce.
To call this a reinvention wouldn’t necessarily be correct; instead, Royce (neé Smeby) prefers to think of this as a re-calibration.
‘Moving forward I want to try different ways of approaching the business of my music and that includes using a new name. Honestly, it makes me chuckle and I love that. I want this new chapter to all be about joy. That’s what this new name represents. It’s still me, but a more free me. We’ve turned the page and it’s a new chapter. And I can’t wait to see what’s next.’
The first single from this new chapter, ‘What I Want’, is a barnstorming adult contemporary anthem with the kind of lyrics that will inspire you to get up and start chasing your dreams. Over the course of nearly three-and-a-half minutes, Royce delivers a series of catchy-as-hell melodies and immensely quotable lyrics, and all backed by the kind of vocal performance that’s guaranteed to stop you in your tracks.
We’re told that there’s more new music coming soon from adult American pop’s next golden boy – so give him a follow on Instagram to make sure that you don’t miss out.