Senior Logan Buckley has officially become a recording artist with the release of his debut mini album “Guilt & Glitter,” recorded with the help of local producer Larry King. On Friday, June 7, Buckley performed these four songs live in a benefit concert for Loudoun Abused Women’s Shelter.
“I always dreamed of having my own show that’s all from my own brain and my own creative perspective,” Buckley said.
The idea for “Guilt & Glitter” started two years ago, when Buckley began writing song titles and ideas in a journal. When he wrote the name of his now debut record, he knew it felt right.
“I just had this thought where I just wrote down ‘guilt and glitter.’ And I was like, that is an album title,” he said.
The first song Buckley wrote for the album was the second track of the record, “My Body,” in which Buckley sings about regaining a sense of ownership over his body that he’d felt he lost. Then followed the title track “Guilt & Glitter.”
“I wanted that song to kind of be the main, the entrée of sorts. And it really does encapsulate what the whole project is about, which is that we all have traumas and we all have guilt over, you know, certain things in our lives,” Buckley said.
In the third track of the record, “Warrior,” Buckley presents a more optimistic tone as he sings about his perseverance in picking himself back up again. For much of the school year leading up to the senior CAS project, however, Buckley hadn’t yet come up with the fourth track of the mini album, “I Am Here.”
“We were like, where’s this mystery fourth song that’s going to wrap up the record?” Buckley said.
Then, in April, he sat down at the piano and began to compose the final song, aiming to represent where he is today.
“I just sat and I cried because I was so happy, but also the lyrics that came out were so liberating,” he said.
Since he began singing, Buckley dreamed of performing and becoming like the popstars he idolized. He learned he could sing at around nine years old when he joined a community theater production, though he eventually realized that musical theater wasn’t for him.
“I never felt that passion. I felt the passion about being on stage, and I wanted people to appreciate my artistry as Logan,” he said. “I never fit in in the musical theater world, because I always wanted to get up on stage and be Britney Spears.”
For Buckley, the process of writing and producing this record has been liberating, allowing him to express his personal struggles in a piece of art.
“I think it dives into a lot of really dark subjects, but also discusses redemption and building yourself back up after undergoing hard things,” he said.
Through creating this album, Buckley hopes he will be able to connect with others in the same way his idols connected with him.
“I made a promise to myself, and I said that I was going to be the artist that I needed when I was struggling so heavily,” Buckley said.
At the end of his concert, Buckley was able to raise $765 — which his father, Craig Buckley, offered to match — resulting in a donation of $1,500 to the Loudoun Abused Women’s Center.
As he prepares to attend Berklee College of Music, Buckley has high hopes for his future music career, ready to make his next album even better than “Guilt & Glitter.” While other popular artists are drawn towards indie and alternative influences, Buckley stays true to his pop roots.
“I am unapologetically pop, and my hope is that people will come along and watch as I attempt to be a pop star,” Buckley said.
