Michael Fairman grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Music was always his passion and as a teen, he released his first recordings through a small label in Chicago. After high school he moved to Los Angeles and then to New York to pursue his career as a recording artist. There he formed his first band which performed in clubs and tried to gain the industry's attention. To little avail.
The rejection and the financial drain eventually convinced Fairman he needed a major change. He put music on hold, moved back to Los Angeles, and went into TV Production and entertainment journalism.
In his new single “Better Late Than Never,” Michael Fairman responds to those who believe he has missed his chance at attaining his music dreams. Written and produced by Fairman and Kyle Mangels, “Better Late Than Never” is a soulful groove song, the likes of Tinashe, that combines the classic R&B harmonies of a Stevie Wonder tune with the Pop/R&B feel of a modern-day Nick Jonas track.
The song’s message is simple yet profound: if you believe, you can achieve. “If you want something bad enough, isn’t it worth trying for it rather than forever wondering, ‘what if’?” Fairman asks. It’s an appeal that has special relevance today as the world prepares for the Olympic games. It reminds listeners that sometimes, in order to reach one’s goal, you must first endure heartache, pain, negativity, and disappointment.
I originally considered calling the song ‘Hail, Mary’. Unfortunately, it didn’t fit vocally with the song, but I love the analogy: it’s the final moments of a football game and there are mere seconds left on the clock, and the quarterback must throw the ball into the end zone and pray his receiver catches it. Nine times out of ten, the ball will be dropped, and the game is lost. But if it’s miraculously caught, you score, and it’s victory!
“Better Late Than Never” builds on Michael Fairman’s previous releases, “Thing About Me” “Can’t Let You Go” and “Other Side”; three songs about the seemingly insurmountable challenges faced by the underdog, whether at love or in life. Michael’s songs are often-anthemic in nature and while they reflect on the harsh realities of the human condition, they offer positive messages of inspiration that can fit into listeners’ own life stories, encouraging them to feel and know that they are not alone.
When he and his team went to record “Better Late Than Never” in early spring, commercial studios were still closed due to Covid restrictions. Fairman recorded all the vocals from his apartment while Kyle Mangles engineered the single from his home studio.
“We’re all on the clock, life is going by, and for some, things come easier than others. Figuring out how to make things work with the technology available during Covid threw a bit of a curveball my way, but we worked through it. I learned so much from the process, grew as an artist, and the fact that this song sounds just as good as if we cut it in a studio makes me realize that when the time is right, one can be unstoppable.”
Michael Fairman’s “Better Late Than Never” is being distributed independently and is available on Apple Music and Spotify. Follow Michael Fairman on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.