Aug 21, 2022

Hit The “Merry Go Round,” With Carissa Johnson

Award-winning singer-songwriter and hard-grooving recording artist Carissa Johnson takes us on a wild, yet intimate ride with her newest single, "Merry Go Round."

The melodic-rock recording artist is known for her straightforward lyrics, driving melodies, and her band's scorching hot live energy. She and her band have won awards like Boston's legendary Rock and Roll Rumble in 2017 and took home New Act of the Year at Boston's 30th Annual Music Awards.

Fast forward to today, Carissa Johnson is still tearing through the music scene with no end in sight. She and her band are back at it again, discussing the hardships of relationships and falling into unhealthy patterns with her latest stimulating single, "Merry Go Round."

She also released an accompanying music video that focuses on the dizzying metaphor of a Merry Go Round, similar to the chaos in one's mind during such difficult situations.

Expanding on the new single, "Merry Go Round," the tune kicks off with blasting rock melodies and instrumentals that smoke our speakers in an instant. As Carissa Johnson's attitude and angst-ridden vocals melt through our speakers, she shares wildly relatable lyrics that discuss navigating her way around a relationship's many obstacles.

All while she keeps us locked with relatable words, her band backs her up with incredible energy, giving a carefree and badass vibe like The Beaches. That said, Carissa Johnson has her own unique way of grabbing the listener's attention with her unique vocal flairs, punchy rhythm, fiery melodies, and overall engaging performance stylings that leave us hooked.

When you're tired of spinning in circles and want to break the loop, begin your journey with help from Carissa Johnson's cathartic new single, "Merry Go Round," now available on all digital streaming platforms.

Welcome to BuzzMusic, Carissa Johnson. What a powerful and anthemic song you've just released with "Merry Go Round." What experiences inspired you to create such a cathartic song like this? This song came together pretty quickly when the idea struck. I felt like I was in a loop, and I had to get out of it. I think we all can get into rhythms or relationships where we feel like things aren’t changing or the same patterns keep appearing. That’s what I was going through at the time, and I just needed to make a big change. What was your experience writing the lyrics for "Merry Go Round"? Was this a difficult process considering your lyrics are rather vulnerable and emotional? I don’t remember much of the writing process for this one; it just kinda flowed out really quickly. Usually, the lyrics come first when I write, but this one spilled out with the melody pretty attached to it in my head. I wanted the chorus to feel like a relief from the heaviness of the verses and to show that this person and I are still good and we’re stronger now. I remember not knowing what the future held and being pretty sad about letting this person go in this way, so it wasn’t easy accepting the end, but writing about it was really cathartic. I remember having teary eyes writing it, and the first time through playing the chorus, I broke down. It took about a month before I could play the chorus without crying, but that’s an indicator to me that I’ve said what I wanted to say and I hit the right mark. What inspired the dynamic scenes for the "Merry Go Round" music video? Who helped you bring the music video to life? I wanted to see if it was possible to rent a merry-go-round and get a bunch of friends to hop on it with me. We threw some easter eggs in there, too, like some re-occurring characters from my past music videos. The Paragon Carousel let us rent it out, and it was perfect - my brother Torin filmed the whole thing with a drone he and I conceptualized the night before. We attached a gimble handle to the bottom of it, and we were pretty proud of that invention. I couldn’t have done this video without the friends and family who woke up early and dressed up to be a part of it. It just wouldn’t have made sense if it was just me on the carousel. What do you hope the listener gets out of hearing "Merry Go Round?" What do you want them to feel or realize after listening? I hope the listener gets that it’s okay to wind up in cycles, but it’s also okay and totally possible to get out of them. Realizing you’re in a loop you don’t want to be in is the important thing, and then doing something about it creates really positive change. Sometimes it’s hard to let go of things we really love or to change something we’re really used to, but there’s so much beauty and growth in doing that, and it always leads to a better feeling, even if it’s harder at first.