Ricky Dillon Hopes His New Album Makes Fans Realize “They’re Not Alone”

By 10/21/2015
Ricky Dillon Hopes His New Album Makes Fans Realize “They’re Not Alone”

Ricky Dillon has had quite the career. The 23-year-old YouTube star got his start on YouTube in 2010 on his channel PICKLEandBANANA, which now boasts over 2.6 million subscribers. Dillon then went onto become a founding member of the original YouTube supergroup Our 2nd Life (O2L), subsequently touring the country with his five other O2L buddies in the summer of 2014 (and shooting a documentary feature) before disbanding in February 2015.

But the end of O2L was clearly not the end of Dillon’s digital efforts. After posting cover songs to his YouTube channel on and off since its inception, Dillon released his debut single “Ordinary” in 2014, and launched an EP of five songs in January 2015. The vlogger’s musical skills have now blossomed into a full-length album set for release in late 2015. And that’s in addition to a few short films Dillon has been working on that will make their way to fans in the coming months.

Dillon will appear at Stream Con NYC in just over a week on October 30 and 31. We sat down with the budding musician and digital star to discuss his album, short film, and goals for the future of his video and musical content.

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Tubefilter: What’s been your favorite part of being a YouTuber?

Ricky Dillon: Making a positive difference in so many young lives. I grew up with a lot of personal struggles, such as bullying and harassment and way too many insecurities, and it’s the most rewarding and humbling feeling to me now that I’m able to be a positive influence on people that are currently dealing with personal struggles of their own. I just love to make people feel good and smile.

TF: Your manager told us you’ve got a Halloween-themed short film coming out soon. What can you tell us about the film’s story line and production? Is this part of this year’s YouTube Space Halloween contest or was this your own initiative?

RD: Not sure what the Halloween contest is, haha! I wish I would’ve known about that or I would’ve entered! But no this is just something I decided to do on my own! I love making my silly videos in my bedroom and my goofy comedy skits, but I truly love and find so much passion when I do much bigger projects. I’ve done so many huge music videos now, but I’ve never done a non-music video that’s been as big.

This is my first video that’s a huge full crew and everything. It’s going to be by far one of the biggest things I’ve ever made; I’m already so proud of it. I don’t want to give too much away but it’s a killer/slasher short horror film that takes place in an abandoned theme park. It’s got some scary parts in it for sure, and I couldn’t be more excited. It’s called The Storybook Killer and will be released on my channel October 25th. this is something I really want to start doing more – more short films. I absolutely love acting and want to keep experimenting with it. But it’s also been so fun to be apart of the creating and producing process.

TF: Do you think you’ll make more short films in the future?

RD: Heck, yeah! Like I just said, I definitely want to start making this a regular thing. Obviously I can’t make them all the time because they take a lot of time and work, but definitely every couple of months I want to. I just want to kick my channel and content up a notch.

TF: When you first started YouTube, what were your goals for your singing career? Were they tied together somehow, like was YouTube just a platform to build your brand before you moved into more musical endeavors?

RD: A singing career goal was non-existent for me, actually, when I started YouTube. I don’t think I even had any goals when I first started; I just did it for fun and didn’t even know it could turn into what it is today.

As for singing though, I grew up always fantasizing and dreaming of being like a pop star, haha. I would always imagine myself in music videos and create scenarios in my head. I always loved to sing too, but was very shy about it and rarely ever sang around others. But I always loved music and grew up around it constantly. I was in band for about 10 years and played the trumpet, so I learned everything you need to know about music from that and I grew a huge passion and love for music and performing.

Then when my YouTube channel started to grow and I saw other YouTubers give music a shot (such as Shane Dawson and Joey Graceffa), they inspired me to step out of my comfort zone and try it out. I was so nervous about and worried I wouldn’t be good enough, but my viewers were so supportive and incredible and wanted more! So they gave me the strength and courage to continue and pursue this secret dream I’ve basically had my whole life. Ever since, I’ve worked so hard on my music and worked hard to improve and I’m so happy and proud of myself and absolutely love everything about making music.

TF: Tell us about your upcoming album. How long have you been planning it and working on the songs? What can fans expect to hear?

RD: I am SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS. I started making the album back in March, and at the time it was only going to be another EP, so around five songs. But we just kept making more and more and before I knew it, I had about eight songs so I just decided to work on a few more to make it an album. It’s 11 songs and I absolutely love every single one. I’ve spent so, so, so much time on each one individually. So much work and passion has gone into each one. I’ve been much more involved in the entire process this time around. A lot of my old songs that are already released, I was still so new so I wasn’t able to do a lot of the work, but with my new songs I either wrote the songs or co-wrote them and have been involved in the entire process so much more than before.

Some of them really mean a lot to me, such as one song that’s about how I struggled and overcame bullying and another on how I overcame my insecurities and personal battles. It’s two things I’ve really always wanted to express but never knew how — with music it’s the perfect way for me to and I hope these songs are able to help and inspire people out there that may be struggling as well.

That being said I definitely have plenty of fun, boppin’ songs as well! A lot of really fun songs that make you want to get up and dance and sing along! I also have three features on the album — Trevor Moran, my best friend Shelby Waddell, and someone who I don’t want to announce just yet. It’s exciting, though. ;D Overall, I think my fans can expect to hear my growth as an artist and a singer. It’s crazy for me to listen to my first song “Ordinary” and then listen to this new music — the difference is crazy. I’m truly proud of myself and I’m so passionate about all of this.

TF: What are your hopes for this album?

RD: My hopes for this album are for people to just have a good time listening to it, honestly. I want my music to be something people can jam out to with friends when they’re having a good time, songs that can sing in the shower and the car, and songs they can go to when they need someone. I may not be there in person but if they ever need someone, I want them to know they can play my music and I’ll indirectly be there for them — they’re not alone. Overall, I want it to be a feel-good album people just enjoy and get inspired by to love life a little more. It’s a new and amazing way I’ve been able to express myself, more than I’ve ever been able to do before.

TF: What do you have in the works for 2016?

RD: I’m so excited for 2016. My album comes out literally at the very, very end of 2015 so 2016 will kick off with all of my new music, so I’ll definitely be releasing a lot of music videos. Being a YouTuber, I naturally vision a music video already for literally every song on the album so I’m going to making so many, haha — they’ll be spread out, though.

Also in 2016, I’ll be going on tour with Trevor Moran! we’ve been trying to plan this out for well over a year but we’re finally finally getting things worked out. We had some setbacks but I think we’re finally just about there and I can not wait to get back on tour again. I miss it so much. So Trevor and T will both have new music out that we’ll be performing, including our duet from my album. It’s gonna be so much fun. Besides that, nothing planned yet — definitely more short films and I hope to pursue some more acting ventures that are outside of my channel. We’ll see. ;] I’m so excited for the future.

You can meet Dillon and other online video stars at Stream Con NYC. Grab your tickets right here.

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