Elaina Alston on her New Song, “Look Who’s Laughing Now”

Senior history adolescent education major Elaina Alston has been a musician for several years, singing in high school chorus, formerly singing for a band in Rochester and now singing with her band here in Geneseo. When Alston first came to Geneseo, she was busy, and lost momentum musically, until one fateful day, when she posted herself singing a cover of a song on Instagram. For the first time, her friends here at Geneseo heard her singing voice. They began reaching out to her—people wanted to hear more.

Since then, Alston descibed her music journey as “such a high,” articulating that “there haven’t really been any low parts.” When asked about defining her music style, Alston said, “it’s hard to structure” since she’s still “so new to it,” but she is inspired by pop music and stated that her “vision” as she grows as an artist is to “have that band backing, but still a pop feel to it.”

However, it wasn’t until the pandemic that Alston began writing songs. Before COVID-19 hit, Alston said, “I was doing everything at once, I was going a million miles a minute, and then everything stopped. It broke me for a bit—I didn’t know what to do. So, I thought, lemme just write.” 

Alston said she was just “messing around” one day when she realized she was humming the melody of a chorus. Unbeknownst to her, this melody would eventually become her newly released and first ever mixed and recorded single, “Look Who’s Laughing Now.” Alston didn’t release the song right away—she said she “wrote it as a joke, kind of,” not yet taking herself seriously as a songwriter. She forgot about it for a while, keeping busy with her band in Rochester and school commitments.

Alston credits her experience in the Rochester music scene to being a part of a band there, which ended up not lasting as the perfect fit as she became busier and busier with school. She said that when she left the band, it was similar to how she felt when she first wrote “Look Who’s Laughing Now”: “the energy for me going into quarantine was just… I want to be proud of myself,” said Alston. “If anyone is going to try to get me down—no, that’s not going to happen.”

These feelings were echoed after her departure from her former band. When she revisited the song, she realized its lyrics, “I’m all brand new, and since we’re through, I know now that I’m better off without you” were what she wanted to say to herself whenever she felt down.

Once she decided she wanted to finish and produce the song, Alston had to figure out how that process was going to work for her. She reached out to a producer, Michael Pinales, from House Guitars in Rochester, and met up with him to begin recording. She said the process included a lot of trial and error, and really taught her what not to do next time. 

The first time they recorded it, she thought it felt too acoustic and bare—it wasn’t until drums were added that she started feeling like she could really run with the recording process. The song was recorded in three sessions, and Alston played the acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass and sang on the recorded version, recruiting a friend to play drums on the record. 

Of the recording process, Alston said, “it was a journey for sure. It’s similar to building a house—there are so many moving parts to it and no rulebook.”  While recording her vocals, Alston said she had to make herself angry, reflecting, “I just remember letting all the frustration out in the booth and thinking, you know what, you tried to get me down but I’m okay.”

Alston says the song means a lot to her now. She said the release was “so sudden, and it was… very vulnerable which isn’t what [she was] used to.” Alston said all the support she received and hearing how many people in her life were listening to the song was a “really cool feeling” and something she would never forget. 

Alston said her favorite part about the song is how many people can relate to the message of staying strong and empowered, even when others are doing everything they can to make you feel the opposite. This message clearly shines through in the chorus: “you thought your words could tear me down, but look who’s laughing now.”