Today marks the release of Laura Marano’s debut album, ‘i may be an actress, but i can’t fake how i feel’. Through all of the dedication, self-reflection and pain, Marano is showing the deepest side of her emotions. When it came to the creative process and naming the album, Marano admits, “I really struggled about naming the album such a long title, but I just couldn’t get it out of my head. The title is a lyric from the first song on the album, and the moment I wrote it, I remember thinking how much I loved the sentiment. To me, this title represents exactly who I have been and who I am now. As someone who has been in this industry since I was five, truthfully, there have been a lot of times where I’ve faked how I felt…and I think in the past few years, that’s really taken a toll on me. This album is about coming to terms with that and so much more. I also love how the long title in a lot of ways prepares everyone for the very long track list. I decided to go big for my debut album!!!” 

 

The album clearly holds such a special place is Laura’s heart and authentically reveals layers of emotion, some of which really surfaced during the writing process. Marano shares, "It was a little painful, to be honest. I would say, I was in a really weird headspace for the majority of working on this album. I also wrote almost half of it on my own (10 songs out of 23), which can be both a rewarding process but also a bit lonely. It wasn’t until near the end when I was finishing the interludes that I finally felt this sense of emotional liberation.” As you listen track by track, Laura really sets a visual for what the album is — a vision that came early on in the creative process. Marano reveals, “That was truly one of the reasons I fell in love with the title! I instantly saw what I wanted the visuals to be. I knew I wanted to pay homage to iconic Hollywood actresses. I knew I wanted the music videos to relate to my acting career in some way. I instantly fell in love with what the title and album would look like visually.” With the album being so close and personal to Laura’s journey, there was a few goals set in place. Marano admits, “I think my main goal was to just put every single feeling I’ve felt in the past few years on the table and make these songs as honest and vulnerable as possible, which, unsurprisingly, was a very scary thing to do. I do think, however, I was able to accomplish that, and I truly am so proud of this album.” 

 

‘i may be an actress, but i can’t fake how i feel’ is a concept album at its core. Marano shares, “From Kendrick Lamar to Pink Floyd, some of my favorite albums in the world are concept albums. I remember when I was working on my debut album back when I had my first record deal, I also wanted to make that a concept album, and I had this whole story told in skits throughout the album. Looking back, I am glad that ended up not being my debut album for a lot of reasons, but I did still love the idea of a concept album. Instead of skits, we now have musical interludes that have these incredibly personal and vulnerable lyrics. After I wrote the interludes, I wanted to emphasize their titles in some way, and the idea of using “Acts” as a way of doing that really intrigued me. I loved the idea of separating this album into a five act play, where each interlude felt like a new chapter and the songs that followed fit into that particular chapter.” 

​

One of the most commendable aspects of ‘i may be an actress, but i can’t fake how i feel’ is the 23 tracks, spanning five acts. Marano reveals, “Believe it or not, there are still so many songs that didn’t make the cut! After I announced the track list, I had a few fans upset I didn’t include some songs I had teased over the years, and honestly, I couldn’t help but smile. I love how passionate my fans are. I truly just love them so much. And yes, I know it’s a very long track list, but I stand by it completely. The songs are also fairly short, so it really is only a little over an hour of listening time.” It’s also important to note that Laura is releasing this full-length debut album independently, with no label. For fellow independent artists, you know that this is not an easy task. Marano shares, “Well, I think I just wanted to release music, and unfortunately, when you’re at a label, you’re ironically not guaranteed that. I just wanted to make music that I loved and put it out.” Laura continues, “The biggest struggle releasing anything independently is always the financial struggle and having less access to resources. That is definitely hard; there’s no question about that. It’s exhausting, but I feel lucky I am able to do it.” 

 

Now that the album is out, Laura is putting her fans in the forefront. Marano reveals, “I fell in love with touring last year, so it’s definitely on my mind, but I also feel a bit called to take some time and rest for a hot minute. I will say, however, I am very anxious to meet my international fans in some way. They have been so patient, and I’m doing everything I can to try to meet them all in person.” I think that it’s necessary to end this article with the importance of supporting independent artists. Especially artists like Laura, who truly put their heart and soul in to creating albums like this. At the end of the day, we are part of the journey to the success of the album! It’s our job to step up and support! That being said, please take the time to stream Laura Marano’s brand new album, ‘i may be an actress, but i can’t fake how i feel’, out now!