He’s served as co-writer and producer for chart-topping acts like The Jonas Brothers, Hanson, Selena Gomez, and Demi Lovato but before all of that, Bleu started as a solo singer-songwriter out of Boston. A big break of sorts came in 2002 when the song “Somebody Else” off his upcoming 2003 major label album Redhead was released as part of the Spider-Man soundtrack.

When relations with his label were severed, Bleu took to new musical projects. Over the past few years, Bleu has worked hard to garner support from his fans through crowd-funding campaigns like Kickstarter (he won their 2010 award for Best Music Project) and most recently Pledge Music. And now, he’s embarked upon the first-ever Pledge Music sponsored tour with Will Dailey as of this week in anticipation of his newest album To Hell with You being released.

You can check out one of his two DC area tour stops by visiting Ramshead Onstage in Annapolis, Md. on Monday September 16 or Jammin’ Java in Vienna, Va. on Tuesday September 17.

On your last album Four, the themes ranged from death to God to the afterlife and even your legacy. For your upcoming release To Hell with You, what would you say the themes are and why?

I’m not sure if I’m sad or happy to say that the themes haven’t veered that much. I’m just as obsessed with self-obsession, mortality and spiritual-pitfalls as ever…but I think the musical-settings are quite different on this record, and I’m personally excited about the new juxtapositions that have come out of that.

What does it mean to you as an artist to have garnered such strong support via crowd funding campaigns including Kickstarter and now PledgeMusic?

To say it means “everything” is cliche – but I’ll put it like this: I’m not sure my artist career would exist (or certainly not in it’s current form) without the support i have received through crowd-funding…it has allowed me to pursue the things that matter most in my life.

What’s next for you once To Hell with You is released? Do you have any big plans or are you just riding out the musical current to see what pops up?

I definitely have some unique ideas already for the next record, but for now, I’m very happy to be moving forward with the musical meanderings of THWY.

As a songwriter and producer, you’ve found yourself working with a wide range of artists whose repertoires vary. What’s your approach when choosing to work with another artist on a new song and what is the biggest challenge you encounter while doing so?

I think the biggest challenge, no matter who the artist is, is finding something that’s simultaneously hooky, yet still speaks to the unique personal truth of the individual.

If there’s any advice you could give to a young songwriter hoping to write a mass-appeal pop song, what would you tell them and why?

Write a lot of songs – like, at-least one every-other-day (100 per-year is a pretty good goal)….some of them are bound to be good!