JOEY CONTRERAS is a New York–based Mexican-American musical theatre and pop songwriter whose work has garnered over 75 million streams across music and social media platforms. He is a two-time Fred Ebb Award finalist, three-time Jonathan Larson Grant finalist, and an alum of the Johnny Mercer Songwriters Project.
Most recently, his musical In Pieces (in development with Regular People) played a sold-out run of performances at The Other Palace in London, UK. His other projects include Forget Me Not (co-written with Kate Thomas), Heartbreakers in Hell (co-written with Benjamin Halstead), Robby Green is All Grown Up (2024 Drama Club Camp Selection), Last Call For Monty & Liz (in development with Storyboard Entertainment), and How To Meet a Mensch (in development with RGN Theatrical/Talnek Communications). Additionally, he has composed for Disney Junior's "Lights, Camera, Lexi!," The 5th Avenue Theatre, and various short films.
He regularly teaches private songwriting coaching and leads masterclasses at universities and musical theatre training programs. He received his MFA in Musical Theatre Writing from NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
YOU’VE BEEN DESCRIBED AS A 'BROADWAY-POP CROSSOVER EXTRAORDINAIRE.' HOW DO YOU BALANCE THE CHARACTER-DRIVEN NARRATIVE OF MUSICAL THEATRE WITH THE HOOK-HEAVY, IMMEDIATE NATURE OF POP MUSIC WHEN YOU SIT DOWN TO WRITE?
There’s a lot more character decision-making and discovery in the lyric writing of theatre songs, whereas pop songs tend to sit in an emotion and reflect on it. Those are inherently different functions, which makes it challenging to write songs that both propel a story and feel authentically pop. Sometimes the magic of a pop song is its simplicity or the confidence to lean fully into a feeling or a vibe.
For me, the goal is to build song structures that can support a big, memorable hook while still making room for the lyrics to do the dramaturgical heavy lifting when they need to. Ideally, the audience leaves humming the chorus, but they’ve also witnessed a character fundamentally change by the time the song is over.
YOUR SONGS ARE KNOWN FOR BEING BEAUTIFULLY DRAMATIC. WHAT IS THE MOST DRAMATIC 'JOEY CONTRERAS' THING YOU’VE DONE IN REAL LIFE WHEN FACING A MINOR INCONVENIENCE?
I used to write a lot of my inner thoughts and feelings about a certain boy in a small notebook and one morning alone at 5am in an empty Times Square, I ceremoniously tossed it into a garbage bin. It was my way of moving on from him. That image of young me doing that feels kinda cinematic and dramatic.
YOUR STUDIO ALBUMS (LOVE ME, LOVE ME NOT, YOUNG KIND OF LOVE, IN PIECES) FEATURE AN ABSOLUTE POWERHOUSE LINEUP OF BROADWAY VOCALISTS (JEREMY JORDAN, ANDREW BARTH FELDMAN, NATALIE WEISS). WHAT IS YOUR PROCESS FOR MATCHMAKING A SONG YOU’VE WRITTEN WITH THE PERFECT VOICE TO BRING IT TO LIFE?
In my experience, a song’s success often comes down to finding the right song for the right vocalist at the right moment. I usually know pretty quickly who I hear singing a song, but then it becomes a question of whether I can actually get them on it. A great vocalist makes a song feel like they wrote it, that it’s coming directly from them, and brings their own special sauce to the material.
It also means recognizing that I’m not always the right vessel for my own songs. I’ve released songs myself that didn’t truly connect until I re-recorded them with another artist who unlocked something and elevated it. That’s one of my favorite parts of collaborating. It’s a reminder that a great song can keep evolving depending on who gets to tell the story.
WHAT IS ONE CORE MEMORY OR COLLABORATION FROM YOUR CAREER THAT STILL FEELS COMPLETELY SURREAL WHEN YOU LOOK BACK ON IT?
Having David Archuleta cover “Love Me, Love Me Not” on my original In Pieces Highlights Album is definitely a collaboration highlight. He has such signature tone and phrasing and to me, remains one of the best male vocalists out there. When he agreed to put his spin on one of my most well-known songs, it was really cool and surreal for sure.
YOU'VE SUCCESSFULLY CROSSED OVER INTO COMMERCIAL COMPOSING, WRITING FOR MAJOR BRANDS LIKE THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY AND THE 5TH AVENUE THEATRE. HOW DOES WRITING FOR A STRICT CORPORATE BRIEF OR A MEDIA COMMISSION DIFFER FROM WRITING A HIGHLY PERSONAL TRACK FOR ONE OF YOUR INDIE ALBUMS?
It can definitely feel intimidating at first to write for a project that doesn’t originate from your own imagination or lived experience. The way I get around that is by trying to find my personal way into it. No matter how specific the brief is, there’s usually some emotional truth or universal experience I can connect to. Once I find that, the writing becomes a lot more enjoyable, and I think the song ultimately lands in a more honest and meaningful way.
UNLIKE TRADITIONAL POP WRITERS WHO RELY HEAVILY ON STREAMING OR RADIO, YOUR CATALOG GENERATES INCOME THROUGH STREAMING AND INTERNATIONAL THEATRICAL LICENSING (SHEET MUSIC, PERFORMANCE RIGHTS). HOW HAS DIVERSIFYING YOUR CATALOG CHANGED YOUR APPROACH TO THE 'BUSINESS' SIDE OF BEING AN INDIE SONGWRITER?
It’s difficult to make a consistent living as a musical theatre writer, especially early on. Shows can take years—sometimes a decade or more—to reach the point where they’re generating meaningful income. So I’ve always believed it’s important to create as many revenue streams as possible instead of putting all your hopes into one thing.
One thing I always tell writers is: sheet music is your merch. If you write songs people genuinely want to sing, you’re giving them a way to champion your work. Someone performing one of my songs is, in a way, the equivalent of someone wearing an Abercrombie sweatshirt—it becomes part of how they express themselves and share what they love.
On the business side, it also means being diligent. Register your songs everywhere they should be registered, make sure you're collecting the royalties you're entitled to, and don't overlook the smaller income streams. It might feel like pennies at first... until one day it isn't.
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