Producing Songs I’ve Never Heard: Lovin Myself by Ava Max [EPISODE 10]
🎧 Is it just me, or did Ava Max give us Born This Way 2.0?
This week I’m producing a track for Ava Max’s new single, Lovin Myself. Based on her previous releases, I expected another high-energy, electronic dance anthem - which lines up pretty well with the kind of sound I usually gravitate toward. Safe to say, I was excited to dive in.
The acapella delivered exactly what I’ve come to expect from Ava: big vocals, a catchy hook, and tons of attitude. I could easily imagine electropop synths underneath, anticipating a Cirkut production - only to check the credits and see this one was actually produced by Pink Slip.
🎤 Here’s the acapella if you want to play along and hear what I heard first:
To add to the challenge, this week I only used sounds from the Splice pack: Power Techno & Trance by Audentity Records.
I started with the drums - a straightforward four-on-the-floor pattern - and used that to set the pulse for the rest of the track. From there, I brought in the bass, which ended up shaping the entire arrangement. Those two elements, drums and bass, became the core drivers of the energy.
Once I had the structure mapped out, I layered in a high-end synth over the hook to give it a lift, and added a pluck for sparkle and a bit of counter melody in the verses, which I kept intentionally darker for contrast.
The part I struggled with most? The intro. The vocal starts with the hook, so the big question became: do I go all in from the first beat, or build gradually? In the end, I decided to go full throttle, but I kept second-guessing it until the very end.
🎧 Haven’t heard the original yet? Check it out here:
I really enjoyed the original once I finally got the chance to listen. What really stood out, even before I heard the original, was how much this song reminded me of Born This Way by Lady Gaga. Maybe it was the chord progression — or maybe it was Ava’s vocal delivery — but even during the pre-chorus, my brain kept wanting to go straight into “I’m beautiful in my way…” Am I the only one who heard those similarities?
Besides that though, I felt like my arrangement choices didn’t end up too far off from theirs. Both tracks were driven by the drum and bass with a few additional synth flourishes mixed in. I did like their decision to open with a stripped-down version of the hook, it let the track build naturally in a way I didn’t quite achieve.
What did you guys think? Let me know in the comments!
🔎 Want more?
Catch up on previous episodes in the series here.
And check out my original music on Spotify :)