Wyoming-born Paden Malachi is an independent country pop recording artist and songwriter who developed his love for country and gospel music at an early age. He began songwriting in high school and in college honed his craft with musician friends and co-writers. Initially billed as gospel artist, Paden Smith, he released his debut original album, Just Breathe, in 2008. The title track landed a coveted spot on the soundtrack of the Christian film, Once Upon A Summer. Eventually, while filming a military tribute music video for the song, I'll Move On, he came to the decision that he wanted to serve his country and enlisted in the military in 2010.

A proud member of the LGBT+ community, Paden experienced some pushback in the gospel music industry and felt strongly that he needed to be able to express himself as freely and authentically as possible as an artist. Steeped in country music from a young age, he has pivoted to the country pop genre with the hopes of spreading a message of inclusivity and helping to diversify the country music landscape by drawing on his personal experiences.

Still serving in the military, Paden lives in the D.C. area. He continues to write new music for his upcoming country pop album, WILD, drawing inspiration from the sounds of his childhood, as well as musical influences like: Fancy Hagood, Kacey Musgraves, and Orville Peck.

His new original single, Honeysuckle, is available everywhere now.

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“Find out who you are and do it on purpose” - Dolly Parton

new release - out now

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Honeysuckle 3:51

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HONEYSUCKLE

single - 2022

Tony Carboney, Producer

"Honeysuckle is a nostalgic country-pop summer anthem that celebrates my mother’s southern roots and my childhood summers spent in Georgia. It was inspired by a poem I wrote about my experiences there catching fireflies, picking blackberries and running around the woods looking for honeysuckle flowers and tasting the nectar. It pays homage to a simpler time when summers were spent outside getting dirty and making lifelong memories.

My favorite lyrics from the song are “Constellations of fireflies are flying by these blue-green eyes” because I love the imagery it creates, and “I was raised by a Southern daughter, I was taught to love like hell” because it really embodies the spirit of the song as a tribute to my mother’s heritage and the lessons she taught me.

This song was produced by Tony Carboney, an extremely talented musician and producer out of Las Vegas, NV. Conceptual development, songwriting, arrangement, recording, mixing, and mastering all took place between my home studio in D.C. and his Las Vegas studio over lots of emails and a Zoom call. I love that technology allows us to collaborate from thousands of miles apart. The success of Honeysuckle and the great working relationship we developed have led to continued creative collaboration and we are currently working on the remaining tracks for my upcoming country pop album. I feel that Honeysuckle is a great introduction to who I am as an artist and the overall vibe of the rest of the project."

-Paden

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