Premiere: ‘O, Hallelujah’ a dose of gratitude from Phillip-Michael Scales

“You’re ready for what you’re ready for when you’re ready for it.”

A conversation with his girlfriend led dive-bar-soul singer-songwriter Phillip-Michael Scales to that point. 

“I was on a date with my girlfriend, when we realized we both had lived in Boston at the same time,” Scales said. “We also lived in Chicago at the same time, but for some reason we didn’t overlap or didn’t meet each other.”

Scales, who recently moved to Nashville from Chicago, was pondering that perfect timing with gratitude when he wrote his newest single, “O, Hallelujah,” which dropped today for purchase and on most streaming services. 

“It’s all about that timing of life,” he said. “It’s about the right time and the right place and being grateful for that. She’s a wonderful woman, but, man, it would have been a bad scene if we had met any earlier. We were talking about where we were in our lives at the time, and I told her Boston Phillip and you wouldn’t have been a good match.” 

Oil and water? 

“Or oil and fire,” he said with a laugh. 

Scales, who said he’s been making records since he was 13, has had musical experience studying at the Berklee College of Music and putting in time on the Boston, Detroit, L.A. and Chicago musical scenes. But he said the process for this song came together so much more quickly than most he’s written. “The song just fell out of my mouth.” 

“O, Hallelujah,” given life by Scales’ signature soulful rock vocals, was written and recorded at Honey Jam Records with Griffin Kenna and includes Scales’ friends Nikki Morgan, who shares vocals on the song, and De’mar Hamilton (of the Plain White Ts) on drums. 

“The song stuck with me,” he said. “As a musician, it’s the zenith you try to hit, where it’s catchy and melodic and people want to sing along to it, but it also has a message people can connect to.” 

Scales returns to visit Chicago frequently, playing private and corporate gigs mostly, and he has a big show here on the horizon. He’s also preparing for the release of a video for the song shot by Bryan H. Inglesias, due out in November or December. 

“Everything about this song feels special to me. It’s very rare. And I’m super grateful for that.” 

GALLERY: JC Brooks Band, Phillip-Michael Scales — Sleeping Village 12/6/19

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