Niwot alum releases new musical single

Love is fickle, love is kind, love "is a many splendored thing." The idea of "love" has been written about numerous times, in countless ways, and now Niwot High School alum Daniel Fiamengo is writing that it's stupid. Or rather, that when talking about feeling in love, we sound somewhat silly. On Sept. 4, Fiamengo released his debut single "Stupid in Love."

"The words [we use to describe love] are so ridiculous sometimes," Fiamengo remarked. "Sometimes we say things and it's like 'you wouldn't say these things [about anything else].' It's a very lighthearted song that skirts the lines between comical and self-deprecating."

Like many in the music world, Fiamengo has been fascinated by the art his whole life. He described how in his adolescence, he used to sit at a piano and play Billy Joel covers. Later in high school, he found a calling for choir and musical theater. When it came time to decide what he wanted to pursue in college, it was a bit of an arduous process.

"I was looking at a ton of schools for a ton of different things," he said. "Through my college search process, I went through changes of heart about what I wanted to study and where I wanted to be." Ultimately, he found himself at Nashville's Belmont University studying composition and arrangement.

While studying at Belmont, Fiamengo has been involved in various collaborative projects, but eventually felt somewhat dissatisfied with his experiences co-writing other songs. He explained that he already had a desire to shift gears and try the "singer-songwriter" aspect. So, when quarantine started in March and Fiamengo was sent home to Colorado, he suddenly found himself with the time to more seriously pursue songwriting.

"My best friend and roommate were talking...He challenged me to release something either before my 21st birthday or before the calendar year was over."

Fiamengo admitted that the writing process was difficult. After reflecting on some of his own feelings and having a conversation with a friend who was smitten with someone, he had his theme. But when it came to actually writing the track, it was more challenging.

He said, "There were a lot of days, literally laying on the ground trying to brute-force a song."

Not wanting to "put a bad idea on paper," Fiamengo went through numerous revisions. Throughout the process he explained that he was judging himself constantly, which made the lyric process difficult, but satisfying when he received positive feedback from his peers. Ultimately, he estimated that the lyrics alone took about a month and a half to write.

Another hurdle in the way to the finished product was the fact that none of his Belmont colleagues recruited to record the piece were in the same room. However, Fiamengo actually sees this as a testament to how powerful art can be, even in the midst of a pandemic.

"These are all Belmont people, all friends, the best people I could find," he said. "I do not think it would sound the same without these people."

Fiamengo laughed when asked to describe the publishing process. "It probably will be the hardest the first time...The music industry is so saturated...It got to a point where I was so drained. [But] I imagine the next song will be easier."

The next song, however, seems to be a small source of anxiety for Fiamengo. With "Stupid in Love," he expressed some surprise at the song's success. He said that he hoped to get at least 1,000 streams "at some point," and that goal was hit almost immediately. He then described how both Belmont people as well as other friends would reach out to him to show support.

"A lot of them were saying that the chorus got stuck in their head," he explained, singing a few bars from his song, "which is indicative of pop music, which is really interesting... I was proud of how many people like the song... [but] I've never known where I fall in the spectrum of pop music."

He expressed how he is slightly anxious about the reception of future work and hopes that people don't just expect more similar songs in the future, and then are disappointed if he releases something totally different.

"If I wanted to do the artist thing, I would really live in the soul-pop-R&B genre, but what I write next, I'll be trying really hard for it not to sound exactly like 'Stupid in Love,'" Fiamengo said. "I love so many different things...I want them to enjoy whatever happens next."

It's this diverse set of musical interests that seems to motivate him, however. He said that as long as he's able to do something in music, he'll be happy.

"'Stupid in Love' was the first real attempt for me. The whole songwriting thing was never been part of the plan but has been quite fun as I've grown more confident in those abilities."

To keep up to date with Daniel Fiamengo and his musical endeavors, you can find him on Instagram at @danielryanfiamengo.