Maura Whitman’s new single, “The Difference,” looks at relationships and how the right person stepping into your life can bring everything into focus; they’re the missing piece, the foundation, the key you never knew you needed. Rather than a straightforward love song, though. “The Difference” is about discovering your own self-worth when the right person helps you with a change of perspective.
Tapping a team of her fellow Gordie Sampson Songcamp alumni for this pop ballad, Maura Whitman turned to Nicole (Ariana) Curry and Juno Award-winner producer Corey LeRue (Neon Dreams, Ria Mae, Port Cities) to co-write this at LeRue’s home studio in Enfield, Nova Scotia.
The collaboration proved to be a silver lining in an otherwise disaster of a year. Like the rest of the music industry, 2020 meant cancellations of scheduled performances, showcases, and festivals for Whitman. Rather than languish over lost gigs with Myles Goodwyn and Neon Dreams, Whitman says that she took the time to dive into songwriting and taught herself to play electric guitar. The unscheduled downtime also meant an opportunity to collaborate with Corey LeRue and Nicola Ariana, which resulted in the previously released pop anthem, “I Don’t Need You.”
“The Difference” is the latest in that string of hits from Whitman and her collaborators that have been released with pinpoint accuracy to boost the career of the 20-year old Halifax-based musician. It follows in the wake of the aforementioned “I Don’t Need You,” plus her own single “Roulette” and a feature on Karate Kactus’ “Wildfire.”
The new single captures all the ideals of discovering a soul mate—not necessarily for the romantic value of finding such a partner, but for the ability to recognize how good life can be when you get away from the nonsense. “The Difference” is just as much about recognizing your own worth for yourself; sometimes it just takes the right partner to allow you to see it.
“‘The Difference’ describes the journey of discovering your self-worth and the feeling of being in a relationship with someone who truly loves you for you. This song emphasizes the idea that being vulnerable with someone new can completely change your perspective of what you deserve and allows you to realize that you are enough,” Whitman says about her newest song.
“The beginning stages of this song started with a four-chord melody that I couldn’t get out of my head before bed one night. I recorded myself humming this melody using my voice memos which then was translated to experimenting with this chord progression on the piano. After booking a session with my co-writers and good friends, Corey LeRue and Nicole Ariana, the song came together quickly. Our ideas flowed organically and the song was pretty much written and recorded within a few hours–besides another session for some additional vocals.
“Our sessions are always fun and it’s been awesome hearing this song come to life.”
It sounds like Whitman has the advantage of two collaborators to help her discover the full of her potential.