If Nashville, Tennessee, had a monarchy, singer Levi Hummon might be the prince. His father, Marcus Hummon, is one of country music’s most prolific, successful, and beloved songwriters. His mother, Rev. Becca Stevens, is an author, speaker, and social entrepreneur who founded Thistle Farms in Music City. The revered organization is a nonprofit social enterprise dedicated to helping women survive and recover from prostitution, trafficking, and addiction.
Levi Hummon grew up surrounded by music, hope, love, and a passion for helping others. With the help of his dad and fellow hit songwriter Andrew Dorff, Hummon channeled those early fundamentals into an uplifting song of positivity that’s a balm for any suffering soul.
“Make It Love”—the song and new video—is out now.
“I think the simplicity of the song in that it is just about taking everything that’s wrong in the world and turning it into love is what makes it special,” Hummon said. “Love is a big theme in my family, especially with my mom and Thistle Farms. I think ‘Make It Love’ is pulling inspiration from my dad as the songwriter, literally writing with him, but also the transcendent element of my mom’s work and how amazing that is in my life and how that’s 50 percent of who I am.”
Hummon nearly lost the thread on “Make It Love” several times, although the song has continuously buoyed his career to new heights. “Make It Love” is one of the first songs Hummon penned with his dad, whose songwriting hits include “Bless The Broken Road,” “Cowboy Take Me Away,” “Born to Fly,” and “The Cheap Seats.” Dorff, who passed away in 2016, wrote hit songs “Neon Light,” “My Eyes,” and “Save It For a Rainy Day.” The song’s pedigree was strong, and Keith Urban snapped it up to record within 24 hours. Hummon was still in college at Belmont University at the time. Urban’s immediate response to something he’d helped write convinced Hummon he could have a career as a songwriter.
Levi Hummon: “This Song Just Left This Horrible Bad Taste In My Mouth”
Then, “Make It Love” earned him his first publishing deal and led to his first record deal with Big Machine Label Group. In the meantime, Urban opted not to record “Make It Love,” and Hummon decided he would try. While at Big Machine, Hummon kept attempting to recapture the magic of the song’s demo and said he just couldn’t “nail it.” So, he didn’t release it. Then he lost his record deal, and Dorff unexpectedly died.“This song just left this horrible bad taste in my mouth,” Hummon admitted. “I never recorded it, and it just kind of sat there.”
Hummon signed a new record deal with Kevin Jonas Sr at Red Van Records in 2023 as their flagship artist. He played “Make It Love” for Jonas, who encouraged him to release it. Hummon rerecorded it, and it became his first song with a full string section.
“It’s just been really, really magical,” he explained.
The challenge was honoring the song’s captivating lyrics and simplicity while communicating the power of love. Guided by director Nikki Fletcher, Hummon shot the clip in black and white. As the song grows, the video follows and transforms from its monochromatic palette into a world of technicolor.
“It has the Wizard of Oz effect of going from black and white to color,” Hummon said. “I think it’s just super, super beautiful, and that’s just what the song is to me.”
While the history of “Make It Love” used to harbor bad memories for Hummon, now he sees its broken road as a blessing. He even used it in his proposal video for his fiancée.
“This song is powerful because it is a love song in a lot of ways, but it’s bigger than that,” Hummon said. “But, I knew that. This song just kind of lived so many different lives, and it’s one of my fiancée’s favorites. This music video, I think is just epic. I’m so excited for it to be out.”
Next up for Hummon, he’s set to join Walker Hayes on select dates on tour. The men collaborated on Hummon’s song “Paying For It,” which is out now and has accumulated more than 30 million streams.
Read the full article at americansongwriter.com.
(Photo by Danielle Del Valle/Getty Images)
Comments