Lauren Spencer Smith Details Lessons Learned While Writing Debut Album ‘Mirror’ & Meaning Behind Title

Lauren Spencer Smith‘s debut album, Mirror, has finally arrived. The singer released the project on Friday (July 14), and leading up to its release spoke with Billboard News about the meaning behind the project’s interesting title, as well as the lessons she took away from writing the LP.

“Initially when I first wanted to title the album, I wanted it to be something about reflecting because everything that’s on the album is a personal experience to me,” she explained to Billboard staff writer Rania Aniftos. “Then throughout realizing no one had been by my side other than the mirror seeing every cry sesh, happy sesh, came back from the first date with my boyfriend and feeling excited, it was the only thing that was a constant throughout the rollercoaster of emotions that I had to go through to write the album, but it felt so fitting calling it Mirror.“

Smith continued, “When I first started writing the album, I would never have imagined that I was going to end the album with that title. I definitely think it was something that I randomly started thinking of one day, like ‘Wow, I literally would not where I am today if everything didn’t happen to me.’ And as much as sometimes I still look back being very annoyed and sad that things like that happened to me, it just has made me who I am. It’s the reason I written all the songs. I remember thinking one day to myself, ‘I think I should thank the person that hurt me,’ because they kind gave me this trajectory of a career at this point.”

Mirror features breakthrough singles “Fingers Crossed” and “Flowers,” “Fantasy” with GAYLE and Em Beihold, “That Part” and more. The 20-year-old will embark on a tour in North America, U.K. and Europe starting on July 14 to support the album.

Reflecting on Mirror, Smith also shared that writing the LP has allowed her to feel more comfortable within her craft: “Throughout songwriting I just realized to say whatever I want, it doesn’t have to have a bad intention to it, it’s just something that I want to say in the song and allowing myself to be honest in all of my songs and really be true to myself.”

Watch Smith’s full interview with Billboard News in the video above.