Mike Posner on 'I Took a Pill in Ibiza', bouncing back from disappointment and why he isn't really famous

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According to Mike Posner, people don’t know who he is. They might know his songs, or the countless songs he’s written for other people, but he insists he's not “famous”.

But this might be about to change. The American singer and songwriter has stormed the charts with “I Took a Pill in Ibiza", the longest reigning Number 1 of 2016 so far by a solo artist

Despite this latest success, it hasn’t all been plain sailing. Posner first came to prominence in 2010 with the single “Cooler Than Me”, which enjoyed chart success. But sales of his follow-up tracks got “progressively worse” and his next two albums were shelved by his old record label.

Posner joins the Independent for a chat about the controversial nature of “I Took a Pill in Ibiza”, songwriting and why he always feels out of place at award shows.

On ‘I Took a Pill in Ibiza’

The success of the song is something Posner wasn’t expecting and considers himself “lucky” that once in a while one of the many songs he writes scores well.

“I’m really lucky that every once in a while one of these things that popped into my head gets really popular and I don’t plan it out,” he explains. “I’m writing tons of songs, I probably write between 50 and 100 a year. I feel really lucky that every once in a while I have one that resonates like this and people enjoy it so much.

“Lots of artists make art that no one appreciates until they die. When you’re making art and people are appreciating it while I’m alive, as an artist you can’t really ask for anything more. I am really blessed.”

On the controversial nature of the song

Considering the subject of the song - drugs - it’s no surprise that it was met with concern is some corners. Ibiza tourism chiefs even invited Posner back to the island to rediscover Ibiza, "because we have much more to offer besides the nightlife which is known worldwide”.

However, while controversial, BBC Radio 1 had no problem adding it to their playlist. A spokesperson said: “The song starts with the singer taking ecstasy but the lyrics clearly state the had a negative experience […] It’s a controversial song but we trust our audience to recognise it doesn’t endorse drugs.”

Posner says all he was doing is telling the truth: “A poet’s job is to write the truth and I did take drugs and people do take drugs. I think kind of the problem is a lot of the art that we curate on our radio stations and on our TVs is that we only look at the beautiful parts of life and we pretend like there’s nothing but positive emotions floating around.

"The problem with that is when people watch it and they hear it they think something’s wrong with their life because they feel negative and my job as an artist is to be honest and I did take drugs that’s what I wrote about in the song.

“No one has to listen to my song but it is my job to be telling the truth - I would be doing a bad job if I lied. I’m an artist, I’m not a brand, I’m not at a government agency, I’m not at school, I’m not a teacher. I’m an artist and an artist’s job is to live on the fringe of society and push the limits and say how it is, that’s what I try to do. I’m not perfect, I mess up. Sometimes I’m inauthentic, sometimes I’m trying to be cool as opposed to just be but I’m working on it."

On bouncing back from disappointment:

Posner released “Cooler Than Me” in 2010, it reached number 5 on the UK charts and number 6 on the US Billboard chart. Unfortunately, the 28-year-old’s subsequent singles “sold progressively worse”, and people begun to consider him a “one-hit wonder” he says. His two subsequent albums were shelved.

Posner is optimistic about the career disappointment he experienced, explaining that without the lows he wouldn’t have written “I Took a Pill In Ibiza”.

“I did it you know and things didn’t work out and that but I try to live my life [believing] that things happen for a reason and I certainly couldn’t have written “I Took a Pill In Ibiza”, if you listen to those lyrics, without experiencing that failure. So the song is all about descending from that mountaintop of “Cooler Than Me” popularity. If I’d never descended how could I have written that song?

“Life is exciting and mysterious and when you’re in a down period you never know how that’s going to play out,” he says saying he’s experienced “a re-emergence into some sort of mediocre popularity”.

On songwriting

Just a few of the many songs penned by Posner that readers may be familiar with include the Grammy-nominated “Sugar” by Maroon 5, “Beneath Your Beautiful” by Labrinth and Emeli Sande and “Boyfriend” by Justin Bieber.

“A lot of the songs I wrote for other people I originally wrote for myself. I’m grateful that I have these other people that help me to share my art in other ways. It’s really nice and there is like unlimited talented people out there and I’ve worked with and some of the best singers in the world, so I’m really lucky.”

On ‘not being famous’ and feeling out of place

Posner can be self-depreciating and doesn’t consider himself “famous”. Recently, when attending the MTV Movie Awards when he wore the giant mask from his “I Took a Pill In Ibiza” video.

Was that a Sia-esque anti-fame stunt? “No,” says Posner, shutting down suggestions he actually is a celebrity.

"I can walk down the street and people don’t really know who I am. Some of my songs are famous but I myself am not famous,” he insists.

So why the mask?

“I wore that head because when I go to award shows I always feel out of place, I always feel inadequate. I always feel less beautiful than the other people and so I thought why just feel those emotions when I’ll just show everyone on the outside how I feel on the inside so that’s why I wore the head.”

He says part of his insecurities come from being around perfecty turned-out stars at events. “Everyone’s so goddamn perfect on the red carpet. You go walk around next to Bruno Mars and Adam Levine you might feel a little insecure […] I know I shouldn’t but I do.”

On what we can expect from the new album, All Night, Alone

It’s not going to be a catalogue of songs that sound like “I Took a Pill In Ibiza” that's for sure, primarily because the airplay version many will have heard is the remix with EDM duo SeeB.

“This is like a very stripped down singer/songwriter album,” Posner says which he describes as the “crux and torso” of the album. “The theme of this album is honesty and the truth.”

“At Night, Alone” is out May 6.