How GoDaddy inspired singer Elohim to open – Variety

For four years, singer, songwriter and electro-pop producer Elohim has been hiding.

With more than 200 million streams combined for her music and a strong track record (Coachella, HARD, Made in America and Outside Lands are just four of the many scenes she has performed in the past year), Elohim suggests an artist having one, open public profile.

But until last month, Elohim had never spoken in public with her real voice – she had preferred to conduct her interviews via email or via speech synthesis technology on her laptop which gave her answers a robotic British accent. During her shows, she never stopped to talk to the public or share stories behind her songs. And in all his performances and his photo / video sessions, Elohim kept his face partially hidden by spreading his hair over his right eye.

But all of that changed when she was heading to a commercial shoot (her very first) for GoDaddy, to appear as one of six creators who use the company's website and email marketing tools for s & d. Express and develop their business. The company has asked Elohim to represent not only musicians, but also creative people who talk openly about their mental health issues, anxiety and depression. Elohim detailed several of his best-known songs, including "She Talks Too Much," "Panic Attacks," and "Xanax."

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The campaign also features Elohim's new single "TV", which treats these topics in such a candid form ("I keep the TV on to drown out the sound / My mind is too loud"). The single presents the next album in two parts of Elohim "Brain death, "Who will start with his first volume, the"Braindead Pt. 1 " EP, in May to celebrate Mental Health Month.

Although Elohim quickly agreed to participate in the GoDaddy campaign, she did not realize that she was ready to use her own voice until she was heading to the advertising stage. "I was getting ready to translate the script we put in place in the robot's voice. As I was reading the script, I thought, "I have to say those words," said Elohim on the phone, from his first home in Los Angeles-all "live" interviews with a reporter. on the set and I said, "I want to talk in this advertisement. "I had never intended to speak, that has opened me so many doors and now, I feel like I have overcome so much and it's not easy." It's now my turn to unveil and show people and tell people through my true voice and try to inspire people by telling my story. "

Elohim chose to go even further in her new opening by convening an interview with GoDaddy in front of a camera to shed light on her creative process and how she used music to deal with her fears and destigmatize his mental health problems. "GoDaddy's new campaign is about encouraging people from all walks of life to" make the world you want "by pursuing their dreams and pbadions," said Cameron Scott, brand manager at GoDaddy. "We decided to partner with Elohim because she embodies that spirit. She is an exceptional producer, singer and songwriter who uses her platform to tackle typically taboo topics – mental health, anxiety and depression – and engage people in thoughtful conversations. We are very pleased with the results of the campaign so far. The amount of community engagement is inspiring. "

Elohim's newly acquired confidence has already settled in her tour work, having recently performed some intimate dates in Los Angeles and New York, where she turned her electronic songs into piano and quartet at Ropes – and, yes, she's open to her fans the first time.

"I did not know what to expect and how my body would react," she says. "But it's so weird, I told my team that I was not nervous about playing these shows – which would not have happened two years ago, I would have panicked. So it was good to show what I'm doing and to deal with that fear, and now I can not believe it. "

There are at least some elements that Elohim chose to keep for herself, including her real name and age. But even his chosen stage name, taken from the Hebrew word for "God," has reached a new level of purpose.

"[The name] I've given strength, pbadion, and love, "she says. "He was the person I always wanted to be but was not strong enough, and that gave me that strength. I am not religious, but it seemed to me spiritual, it was really powerful for me. Honestly, I feel like it's what gave me the strength to jump out of a robot voice, to be on stage, to play and to travel. I needed these tools and it worked for me.

Songs for screens is a Variety column sponsored by New York-based experimental music agency MAC Presents. It is written by Andrew Hampp, founder of the marketing consulting firm 1803 LLC and former correspondent of Billboard. Each week, the column will highlight a remarkable use of music in advertising and marketing campaigns, as well as in movies and television.