Rumer, a British-by-way-of-Pakistan artist, sings dusky ballads reminiscent of 70s chanteuses like Carol King and Karen Carpenter; her talent has even caught the eye of Burt Bacharach, who invited the artist to perform at his home. With the U.S. release last month of her debut album, Seasons of My Soul (which was already a hit in the UK when it came out in 2010), and a North American tour to coincide, we've asked Rumer to record her thoughts and impressions for PAPERMAG while she's on the road.
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There was snow on the ground in Salt Lake City. The crowd was small but very nice. After the show I went out to the bus to get something and the door slammed behind me. I turned around and realized it was locked. I went to the bus and couldn't remember the code to get back in. I was locked out in the yard of the venue in the snow. It was pretty cold. I tried to be inconspicuous, but I was wearing zip-up fleece stripey pajamas! Luckily after 20 minutes or so someone came out...
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The next morning, I woke up to a phone call. "Rumer your album is #1 on iTunes!!!"
"What?" I said, scrambling for the laptop. I remembered the CBS news piece had aired. We had all forgotten about it. There it was. Rumer. Seasons of My Soul. #1 on iTunes and #4 on Amazon.com. There were no physical copies of the CDs available and people were buying imports at $40. Tag, my keyboard player, came into the hotel room in his pajamas. Then everyone came in. We were amazed, blinking at the screen. Nobody could believe it. At the next show the place was sold out and packed. When I was standing outside the bus, a car screeched up, a lady jumped out, came running up, threw her arms around me and exclaimed "Welcome to America!" Some other people brought a banner, which had large letters written in glitter spelling "We think you're wonderful."
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Everyone wanted to talk about the CBS story. I connected with so many wonderful people. At the Minneapolis show, one lady moved me to tears when she said, "My husband died in April and this is the first time I have gone out by myself. I saw you on the TV, bought a ticket and I came here by myself."
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RELATED: Rumer's Tour Diary, Part 1: California Dreamin'
There was snow on the ground in Salt Lake City. The crowd was small but very nice. After the show I went out to the bus to get something and the door slammed behind me. I turned around and realized it was locked. I went to the bus and couldn't remember the code to get back in. I was locked out in the yard of the venue in the snow. It was pretty cold. I tried to be inconspicuous, but I was wearing zip-up fleece stripey pajamas! Luckily after 20 minutes or so someone came out...
The next morning, I woke up to a phone call. "Rumer your album is #1 on iTunes!!!"
"What?" I said, scrambling for the laptop. I remembered the CBS news piece had aired. We had all forgotten about it. There it was. Rumer. Seasons of My Soul. #1 on iTunes and #4 on Amazon.com. There were no physical copies of the CDs available and people were buying imports at $40. Tag, my keyboard player, came into the hotel room in his pajamas. Then everyone came in. We were amazed, blinking at the screen. Nobody could believe it. At the next show the place was sold out and packed. When I was standing outside the bus, a car screeched up, a lady jumped out, came running up, threw her arms around me and exclaimed "Welcome to America!" Some other people brought a banner, which had large letters written in glitter spelling "We think you're wonderful."
Everyone wanted to talk about the CBS story. I connected with so many wonderful people. At the Minneapolis show, one lady moved me to tears when she said, "My husband died in April and this is the first time I have gone out by myself. I saw you on the TV, bought a ticket and I came here by myself."
RELATED: Rumer's Tour Diary, Part 1: California Dreamin'