āBecoming a high school teacher is definitely my ideal...but I'm also going to keep making music and see what happens."
While studying to become a teacher, 51³Ō¹ĻĶų junior Eric Santos has evidently stumbled upon a different career path ā songwriter.
Under his stage name āEwreckage,ā Eric wrote, recorded, edited and produced the album Saudade, which includes the song āOcean.ā
The music has been released on the internet.
To his surprise, āOceanā rose to the number two slot on the iTunes charts in Portugal, right behind Ed Sheeranās āI Donāt Care.ā Meanwhile, Saudade reached the number one spot on the albums chart.
āI thought, āThatās kind of crazy,āā Eric said. āI didnāt expect it to get that high.ā
Since the successful release, heās been in contact with MTV to possibly create a video for āOcean.ā
āIf all goes according to plan, the goal is to have it debut sometime this year,ā he said.
When the rising songwriter first arrived on campus, his intention was to be a physical education major. However, his interests soon turned to English.
āIāve always enjoyed writing and have been doing it for as long as I can remember,ā Eric said.
The itch to write can hit him anytime. Eric does much of his writing on campus, sometimes even grabbing a napkin from one of the dining halls to use in place of paper.
āWhen I have a thought, I find I have to write it down,ā he said.
He doesnāt sing his songs; instead recruiting others for that. But Eric is known to rap and even competed in last semesterās on-campus rap battle.
When creating a sound to accompany his lyrics, Eric often turns to some of his favorite artists to find the right vibe. For instance, āOceanā is built around a sample from the band The 1975.
Other artists and bands that he draws from include Maroon 5 and even his chart mate, Ed Sheeran.
As he rides this wave of success, Eric is working on a second album and sheepishly admits he sometimes writes songs in class.
āIām not technically goofing off,ā he said. āIām doing it during down time.ā
Ericās professors have also been supportive as he pursues his music career.
āThey arenāt lenient but do understand that students have a life outside of school,ā he said. āThey teach you life skills, not just classroom work.ā
Eric hasnāt given up on becoming a teacher but will continue to pursue music.
āBecoming a high school teacher is definitely my ideal,ā he said. āI like being in a school environment. But Iām also going to keep making music and see what happens.ā
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