“Never Been to California” is the latest single from Ontario based country singer-songwriter, Mike Whiteside.
Creating A Story Around “Never Been To California”
Teaming up with Lydia Sutherland, Aaron Pollock and Spencer Cheyne, “Never Been To California” continues the theme of finding paradise with the person you’re meant to be with, which we first heard in his single “My Kind of Paradise”.
Whiteside came into the write with an idea; “How do you describe love if you’ve never even found it, like it’s some place you’ve never been, and you don’t need to have been there to know it’s beautiful.”
“Never Been to California” evolved out of this idea that finding the right love for you is something you know will be amazing and worth the wait, even though you haven’t felt it yet. For Mike, the analogy came from his never having been to California, but he knows it’s beautiful anyways.
The July release of “Never Been to California” came at a perfect time. Mid-summer, we’re thinking about if our summer flings are going to make it to the fall, or if they’re just for a season.
What can we learn here? If your love still feels like California, you’ve probably snagged the right one.
As Whiteside continues to look for love in the small town he currently resides, he will be thinking about California.
About Mike Whiteside
Mike Whiteside was on a completely different career path until a few years ago.
A life-changing Kenny Chesney concert, the end of a long-term relationship, and a pandemic offering more free time alone than usual gave Mike an opportunity to explore a career path as a musician.
Having not seen himself as a songwriter before, Mike quickly learned the freedom of being able to tell his own stories and create stories from his perspective.
The virtual nature of the pandemic had him using social media to connect with other writers, which is how he ended up with his debut release, “3 AM”. After connecting with fellow Ontario-based artist, Robyn Ottolini over Instagram, he began working with her producers at the time. The product of this work was “3 AM”,written by Ottolini and produced by Mark Schroor and Erik Fintelman.
In 2021, Whiteside threw his hat into the ring for the Boots and Hearts Emerging Artist Showcase and was surprised when he found out he made the Top Seven.
Related: Mike Whiteside played the Boots & Hearts Emerging Artist Showcase in 2021 …
After the experience of a lifetime at Boots and Hearts, Whiteside caught the bug and has been building out his live show, writing a ton of songs, and dropping two additional singles this year.
“My Kind Of Paradise” was first performed at Boots and Hearts, then sneak peeks on TikTok gained traction among listeners. This marked Whiteside’s first radio single, and has collected a solid number of streams across platforms. “Never Been To California” is his third single, and he hopes to release one more track before the end of the year.
Mike Whiteside On Social Media
Stay up to date with Mike Whiteside on Instagram and TikTok.
Stream “Never Been To California” By Mike Whiteside
Jenna
Country music lover with an unhealthy collection of concert t-shirts. Always looking for up and coming artists. Believer in music's ability to soothe the soul. Connect with me on Instagram and Twitter.
