Dec. 16, 2009 - Issue #739: Melissa AdM

Mae Anderson: ‘Tis the season

Sixteen-year-old singer-songwriter making a name for herself, giving back

For 16-year-old singer-songwriter Mae Anderson, when Christmas no longer felt the same as it once did to her, she aimed to do something about it. Feeling overwhelmed by the tide of consumerism that permeates a holiday that she says ought to celebrate family, friends and loved ones, Anderson wrote and recorded a new song which she will officially release this Friday.

The song, entitled "Perfect Christmas," celebrates the little things that make the holiday special. Instead of getting excited for the holiday shopping extravaganza, it's decorating gingerbread men and taking a moment to appreciate her family that Anderson finds most fulfilling.

"To me Christmas is a huge thing for my family. It's really about getting together during the year—we get really busy and we don't usually have that much time to spend a weekend with our family that lives far away. Christmas is a big feast for love and family attention and to be thankful for what we have, not to necessarily ask for more," she says. "I love giving gifts, and getting gifts is fine, but it gets to a point where that's the main attraction of Christmas and that's what's not right."

In the spirit of giving, the proceeds from the sale of "Perfect Christmas" will support local charities Santas Anonymous and the Edmonton Food Bank. As Anderson explains, she wanted to use her burgeoning fame to help draw attention to members of the community who could use a helping hand.

"I always saw that Christmas was a big deal as much for families as in the media but I saw that the connection between traditions and Christmas was a bit different when it came to media attention. I didn't like the fact that what Christmas really means was deteriorating," she explains. "I really want to change that and use the media attention that I'm getting for good things such as trying to get the Edmonton Food Bank and people that really do need the help more attention than they're getting, rather than have a front-page ad of the new Playstation that's 50 percent off."

The turnaround on the project from inception to completion was very quick so that the young singer could have the song out in time for the holiday season and not have to wait too long to help. Recorded in November in a Las Vegas studio, the song was released to radio by early December. Writing in such a quick timeframe required some elasticity on the part of Anderson, who was encouraged to stretch out of her comfort zone by writing partner Yves Frulla.

"The recording process was in Las Vegas, but I actually wrote it here in Edmonton before I left for Vegas. We did it long distance—me and Yves wrote to each other via email and he would send me a little riff or whenever he would get inspired by something he would send it to me and say, 'Hey, you know if you like it then start writing for it.'" she reminisces. "It was really weird because I've never written like that—I'm so used to writing in studios face to face with someone so the process was a bit longer; we took two weeks to write the song and figure out what we wanted to really say." V

Sat, Dec 18 (6:30 pm)
Mae Anderson
HMV stage at West Edmonton Mall, free

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