Scott Oatley aka VÂN SCOTT began his career as a background vocalist for some of Hollywood's biggest blockbuster projects, including High School Musical 3, La La Land, The Oscars, The Voice and many more. Mentored by Grammy-winning producer legends Mike Elizondo (Ed Sheeran, Jonas Brothers, Madison Cunningham) and Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins (Michael Jackson, Beyoncé, Sam Smith), Scott self-released his debut album Almost Gone in July 2021 via AWAL. In November 2021, Scott was named the Grand Prize Winner of the USA Songwriting Competition for his song "What's Coming Next?" A recent graduate of Berklee School of Music's inaugural Master's program in Songwriting & Production at BerkleeNYC, Scott has toured much of the U.S. over the past year for VÂN SCOTT while simultaneously releasing tracks from his upcoming sophomore album Songs I Never Wrote due out in 2024. In addition to having his own artistic outlet, Scott has a great affinity for fellow creatives and a deep love for the collaborative process, bringing stories to life through song.

VÂN SCOTT - Catalogue

Winner of the Gospel/Inspirational category of the 27th Annual USA Songwriting Competition!

What's Coming Next - Single

What's Coming Next?

Almost Gone

Lost In the City

"Long Time Comin'" may be my favorite song from the new album. It's an emotionally-charged, 80s-imbued anthem and there's just something so raw and real that was captured the day we recorded it. It was a significant time for me because I was just starting to feel hope and excitement for my future again, after an incredibly long low period. For me, this song epitomizes that turning point, and I hope it will inspire others to keep their head up and get back up again when life knocks them down.

Long Time Comin' - Single

Long Time Comin'

"Impress You" is a vibrant, irresistibly singable record that bounces with the heart-pounding excitement of bumping into that special someone. Inspired by Scott's meet cute with a red-haired actress at a Broadway afterparty, the song was co-written with friends, Jack Kleinick (also co-producer) and rising pop sensation, Madeline Boreham.

"Impress You" is the first single from Vân Scott's upcoming sophomore album, Songs I Never Wrote, which will be released gradually, song by song, over the next several months.

Fore more information, including Tour dates, please visit: 
https://www.vanscottmusic.com/

Lyrics:
Got too good at being lonely 
One bed’s too big for me 
Repetition every morning 
It’s like muscle memory 
But someone threw me off my routine 
On the train to South Ferry 
She had red hair and blue jeans 
Started with “hi” 

And then I saw the world Through her eyes 
That was when I 
Knew that she changed mine 
I just wanna impress you 
Make you feel the way I do 
My love could never be enough to 
Nothing compares to you
I’d write a book in an afternoon 
Give anything to prove 
I’d tie a rope around the moon 
Do the impossible for you 
She got me lookin at the sunrise 
On the west side of the street 
All my friends that knew the old me 
Would say they could not believe 
That I could pull off a 1080 
I might even look happy 
Just the beginning of the story 
Started with “hi” 
And then I saw the world 
Through her eyes 
That was when I 
Knew that she changed mine 
I just wanna impress you 
Make you feel the way I do 
My love could never be enough to 
Nothing compares to you
I’d write a book in an afternoon 
Give anything to prove 
I’d tie a rope around the moon 
Do the impossible for you
I just wanna impress you 
Make you feel the way I do 
My love could never be enough to 
Nothing compares to you
I’d write a book in an afternoon 
Give anything to prove 
I’d tie a rope around the moon 
Do the impossible for you

Impress You

'Long Long Time' is the epitome of Vân Scott's hopeful, yet melancholic sound. The self-produced track lyrically tackles the incessant loneliness of being single for too long – a feeling that is only intensified by isolated New York City living. Written in an apartment on the famed Sullivan Street, the song also includes subtle nods to the Piano Man himself, Billy Joel.

Long Long Time

“Waco” is the second chapter in a storyline that began with Scott's previous release “Taylor (not the name of my guitar).” Listeners were swept into a nostalgic look back at a “perfect love affair” that went sour after Scott’s ex dumped him to date his best friend – a detail that all but guarantees an outcry from the crowd at Vân’s live performances.

“Ticket to Waco'' is about the struggle in deciding whether to fight for someone or let them go. “I never told anyone this, but I bought a plane ticket to go see my ex so that I could try to win her back,” Scott shares. “I’m a hopeless romantic so it seemed like a grand gesture that could change the whole picture. But I never ended up going. Ultimately, I figured she had moved on and I would seem desperate or psychotic for showing up at her doorstep. Sometimes I wonder what would’ve happened if I had actually boarded that flight.”

Ticket to Waco

An upbeat new track from a poptimistic sad boi.
Another sad but true story from my upcoming album Songs I Never Wrote coming in 2024!

Lyrics:
It’s not your wedding
But you’re a starlet in your dark green dress
Next to you I look a mess
I was unsuspecting
It’s been years since I saw you last
Thought I left you in the past

I tried to relax
Then I heard your laugh
And it took me back
To your moonlit cul-de-sac
When your sister’s headlights
Caught us kissing in the cold

Girl, you never leave me even when you say goodbye
All I get is what you left behind
Girl, you take my breath away
Every time I see your face and then
I never breathe the same again

No good pretending
The golden band on your left hand’s not mine
Yet I still go back in time

‘Cause nobody else
Got along so well
You could cast your spell
Make me feel like myself
I still go back in time inside my mind
Kissing in the cold, lit up by headlights

Girl, you never leave me even when you say goodbye
All I get is what you left behind
Girl, you take my breath away
Every time I see your face and then
I never breathe the same again
I never breathe the same again
I never breathe the same again

An unexpected brush with your ex has the power to take you back in time to what could have been. The sonic nostalgia of this track has a wistful yet infectious energy that will cause you to forget the heartbreak of the past and dance away any regret.

The latest single from Scott's upcoming sophomore album Songs I Never Wrote (because they would have been about you) out early 2024.

Never Breathe the Same

Watch the Video! https://youtu.be/aM3e4BdwIlA

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/0J6PbnvCKcBWhnPzN2IBId?si=oTxmQUuCTQSOP9LtKDDw0g
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/die-young-single/1482426041

I wrote this one with my friend, Grei. Both of us were used to that strange, inexplicable feeling that we would die young... Thankfully, we're both still alive and kickin (so far), but this one goes out to anyone who shares those same feels and sad, lonely thoughts.

"Die Young" lyrics:
Put a picture up of you and I
Don't forget me in that moment
The trip we took to Florida
To let go with the current

Remember our times on the coast by the ocean
Didn't know that we found paradise
Back when I believed that I was eternal
Back when I was just living my life

I think I'm gonna die young
I don't know why, I can't say
I felt it for quite some time
My own prerogative
Hidden deep in my brain
I can't hold your hand
'Cause I don't know how long I'll last
I think I'm gonna die young
I think I...

Can't see myself 10 years from now
With a wife and kids to cherish
An alternate reality
With joy and happiness

Wish I had more time on the coast by the ocean
Wish I knew how we found paradise
Back when I believed that I was eternal
Back when I was just living my life

I think I'm gonna die young
I don't know why, I can't say
I felt it for quite some time
My own prerogative
Hidden deep in my brain
I can't hold your hand
'Cause I don't know how long I'll last
I think I'm gonna die young
I think I am... (whoa)

Never know
Never know I...
Never know
Never know I...
Never know
Never know, I...

Never know
Never know I...
Never know
Never know I...
Never know
Never know, I...

I think I'm gonna die young
I don't know why, I can't say
I felt it for quite some time
My own prerogative
Hidden deep in my brain
I can't hold your hand
'Cause I don't know how long I'll last
I think I'm gonna die young
I think I am... (whoa)

Never know
Never know I...
Never know
Never know I...
Never know
Never know, I...

Never know
Never know I...
Never know
Never know I...
Never know
Never know, I...

I think I'm gonna die young
I think I...

Written by Scott Oatley and Sachi Grace Patitucci
Produced by Benjamin Byram and Scott Oatley

Artwork by Adam Griffin

Die Young - Single

Die Young

Watch the Video! https://youtu.be/Exh39w7PaHY

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/5B9rI5j4G8AfPDvfDnWIhd?si=mUPvW95iRaWiAt-ZJPnBjA
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/poster-boy-single/1502427707

“Poster Boy” is a confessional song about Scott’s experience overseeing music at his church where he was often revered to a point of unease. A lofty position he’s never been comfortable or happy being in. “People tend to put you on a pedestal when you hold that kind of position,” Scott explains. “I was constantly treated like I could do no wrong, and that’s a dangerous place to be. I felt like I had to play a role and hide my flaws, and so it was hard to be myself. ‘Poster Boy’ calls out that unhealthy expectation of perfection, whether self-imposed or brought on by others. It’s meant to give the listener permission to be human, since mistakes are inevitable for us all.”

"Poster Boy" follows the overwhelming response to Vân Scott's debut singles/videos, "Tough Love" and "Die Young," released in the fall of 2019. His Kickstarter-funded debut album is due out in 2021!

"Poster Boy" lyrics:
I am not a mascot for anyone 
Never asked to be one
Missing out on all the fun
People got me pegged and pigeonholed
Trying to make me fit the mold
Doing everything I'm told

I'm not good at doing everything I'm told

I'm not a poster boy
Whether you like it or not
You can't pin me on the wall
Not a poster boy
There's no denying my feet will leave this pedestal

Oh, I stand for something
I can't stand for nothing

Never chose to have a halo on my head
I'd rather wear my hat instead
Keep my face from turning red
But now you know, if you didn't already guess
Didn't mean to false impress
My life is still a total mess

They want a pretty face
For everyone to see, oh
That's exactly how they'll make a monster out of me

I'm not a poster boy
Whether you like it or not
You can't pin me on the wall
Not a poster boy
There's no denying my feet will leave this pedestal

Oh, I stand for something
I can't stand for nothing
I'm just not a poster boy

They want a pretty face
For everyone to see, oh
That's exactly how they'll make a monster out of me

I'm not a poster boy
Whether you like it or not
You can't pin me on the wall
Not a poster boy
There's no denying my feet will leave this pedestal

Oh, I stand for something
I can't stand for nothing
Oh, I stand for something
I can't stand for nothing


Music and Lyrics by Scott Oatley
Produced by Jesse Carmichael, Andy Davis, and Scott Oatley

Cover Art and Photo by Adam Griffin

Poster Boy - Single

Poster Boy

Watch the Video! https://youtu.be/OJDW06ysUac

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/4xZ0vyWWtu6KqAbvf6tl1O?si=ieBo3fQPQ_OuGEBbA46JVg
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/starry-eyed-single/1528600765

“Starry Eyed” was written in the wake of my best friend’s coming out. It was a tender period that included many tough conversations, and tested both of our belief systems. I had to re-examine my views on faith and sexuality, and was faced with challenging questions about what exactly I believed. And there were times where it felt like my faith was slipping through my fingers… 

One night, feeling particularly alone and overwhelmed, I retreated to my studio in an attempt to find some catharsis. I sent up a wordless prayer in the form of a faint whistle and a melancholy melody (the same whistle that opens up the track). There’s something naturally light-hearted and carefree about whistling. It was the opposite of what I felt, but it was my last-ditch effort to inspire hope within myself.

I ended up doubling the whistle melody on electric guitar, and then layered a bunch of synth textures on top of it with my Moog Little Phatty. Before I knew it, my feelings existed in sonic form. And to just sit in my studio, with the lights off, the glow of the instruments, and the music on loop was incredibly healing for my soul. There’s something expressly vulnerable and spiritual that inhabits that part of this song.

"Starry Eyed" lyrics:
I don’t even know where to begin
But I’m feeling over my head
Losing sight of what I believe
The weight is taking its toll on me

So how do I look you in the eyes
And tell you I love you?
With everything shattered on the ground
Searching for the truth

We were holding the lines
Till we fell on hard times
I can still see the stars in the sky
I think that we’re alright

Yeah, we lost control
But we still got hope
I can still see the stars in your eyes 
I think that we’re alright
Yeah, I think that we’re alright

Everything that I thought I knew
Came crashing down because of you
But I’m happy you made a mess
Shook me awake from my ignorance

We were holding the lines
Till we fell on hard times
I can still see the stars in the sky
I think that we’re alright

Yeah, we lost control
But we still got hope
I can still see the stars in your eyes 
I think that we’re alright
Yeah, I think that we’re alright
Yeah, I think that we’re alright

Your secrets are heavy
But I’ll hold ‘em till you don’t need ‘em anymore
Your secrets are heavy
But I’ll hold ‘em till you don’t need ‘em anymore

Your secrets are heavy
But I’ll hold ‘em till you don’t need ‘em anymore
Your secrets are heavy
But I’ll hold ‘em till you don’t need ‘em

Holding the lines
Even in hard times
I can still see the stars in the sky
I think that we’re alright

Yeah, we lost control
But we still got hope
I can still see the stars in your eyes 
I think that we’re alright
Yeah, I think that we’re alright
Yeah, I think that we’re alright
Yeah, I think that we’re alright

Written by Paris Carney & Scott Oatley
Produced by Scott Oatley
Additional Production by Byram

Starry Eyed – Single

Starry Eyed

Alt-pop artist, songwriter, producer. Featured on film/TV projects like La La Land, Jurassic World, SING, Black-ish, The Simpsons, The Voice and more. Pre-Save new single 'To the Girls' out February 23!
https://laylo.com/vanscott/AQ9zk