A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Since 2008, our Tiny Desk colleagues have introduced us to thousands of talented music artists. One of those artists, Baby Rose, was featured by the Tiny Desk a couple of times, most recently from her home during the early months of the pandemic.
(SOUNDBITE OF TINY DESK CONCERT)
BABY ROSE: (Singing) There's so many things I've gotta say, but I wanna show you. So many words get in the way, so I wanna show you.
MARTÍNEZ: Her music was featured in the hit HBO series "Insecure." And this year, she's one of the judges of NPR's Tiny Desk contest. The contest is in its ninth year. Tiny Desk Concert series producer Bobby Carter is also a judge. Both Baby Rose and Bobby Carter are here with a big reveal this morning. Hello, you two.
BOBBY CARTER, BYLINE: Good morning.
BABY ROSE: Good morning.
MARTÍNEZ: All right, Bobby, let's start with you. Tell us about this year's entries to the Tiny Desk Contest.
CARTER: I'll say this. For all of the years that I've been a judge, this is by far my favorite year in terms of the wide array of voices and talent and perspectives and just the level of musicianship. This was a great, great year.
MARTÍNEZ: So, Baby Rose, I mean, how tough of a decision was this?
BABY ROSE: There were so many amazing artists that submitted from a wide array of areas, like, as far as genre-wise and, like, material-wise, subject-wise. It was very incredible to be able to, you know, sit on that end and listen to people pour out their stories and their hearts.
MARTÍNEZ: It sounds like you both are relieved that it's over in a way, right? I mean, it's like...
BABY ROSE: I mean...
MARTÍNEZ: It's such a hard decision.
BABY ROSE: It wasn't easy. I'm not going to lie. It was not easy. But it was fun to do, though.
CARTER: Yeah. But - and it's a lot of pressure because you just want to get it right. You know what I mean? You know how important this is for an artist getting exposed and, you know, perhaps winning this thing. And we just - more than anything, we want to get it right because, you know, this thing can change lives.
MARTÍNEZ: So, OK, without further ado, Bobby, who is the winner...
CARTER: Break out the timpani.
MARTÍNEZ: ...This year? That's right. Break it out.
CARTER: The artist, the band is Little Moon. And their song is "Wonder Eye," the winner of this year's Tiny Desk Contest.
(SOUNDBITE OF TINY DESK CONCERT)
LITTLE MOON: (Singing) Count up on fingers all my days to the minute. Time getting...
MARTÍNEZ: So, Bobby, I mean, first off, it's tough - right? - when it comes to art to name a winner, right?
CARTER: Yeah.
MARTÍNEZ: But, I mean, so where do they draw inspiration from? What put them over the top?
CARTER: Well, when we go into this thing, one of the things that I look for especially is something that I've never seen or heard just personally and then in the contest. And this video, this song - it starts, and it feels very familiar for the - for about the first 30 seconds to a minute. And then at about the one minute mark, the music just - it almost grabs you by the collar and yanks you in. And, like, check this out. And it just - it's like a gut punch in the best way.
(SOUNDBITE OF TINY DESK CONCERT)
LITTLE MOON: (Singing) Is it a tale that we make true in the telling?
CARTER: And then just when you're into that and you're woozy, you know, it goes up another notch with - Emma goes up into her falsetto.
(SOUNDBITE OF TINY DESK CONCERT)
LITTLE MOON: (Singing) Like a circle eye.
CARTER: It shook me. It was so impactful. And it's a song that you just can't get out of your head. And the performance is just top, top notch.
MARTÍNEZ: And you mentioned Emma - Emma Hardyman, guitar and vocals...
CARTER: Yeah.
MARTÍNEZ: ...For the band Little Moon. Baby Rose, I mean, what struck you the most about Little Moon?
BABY ROSE: I just was taken aback by how ethereal they were. The whole approach, I could just feel her releasing something. The wall of sound that they had with all of the instruments and the production value was just beautiful. And yeah, her voice was captivating, like, all around. I think that when we all listened together when it was the final stretch, it was just a unanimous decision from that point.
CARTER: Yeah, we were in the room. And after we listened to the song, it was just silence for about 10 seconds. We were all looking at each other like, did you feel what I felt? And there were quite a few top contenders this year, but...
BABY ROSE: For sure.
CARTER: ...That's the one that really silenced the room and sort of made it pretty undeniable.
MARTÍNEZ: The backstory behind "Wonder Eye" is that Emma and her husband, Nathan, who's in the band - he plays bass - they were in the process of leaving the Mormon Church. And the church is somewhere they'd grown up with.
CARTER: Yeah.
MARTÍNEZ: So it was - you know, that's a big transition for anyone.
CARTER: It's very heavy. It's also about transitioning from this life to the next, as I believe her mother-in-law was in hospice care. So that story just made the performance make even more sense.
MARTÍNEZ: And, Baby Rose, as an artist, when you can put your own life and the things that you're going through into your art, I mean, how much more impactful does that make a piece of art?
BABY ROSE: I mean, you feel it. It hits different. It feels like an offering versus just a song to sing. And I think that's what we got from Little Moon. And good on them. Like, this is their fourth entry - and so the consistency and them still going for it. And I'm just really happy that they're getting this opportunity.
MARTÍNEZ: So, Bobby, what does the winner have in store for them now?
CARTER: Oh, boy. Well, first off, they're going to be coming here to Washington, D.C. to play behind the real Tiny Desk very soon. And then they're going to go on tour on the Tiny Desk Contest Tour later on this summer. And sky's the limit. I hope this really makes a difference for them and their careers. And I believe they will. I believe that fans and people who watch Tiny Desk - they're in for a real, real treat. And I just - I have the highest of expectations for this band. I love Little Moon.
MARTÍNEZ: That's NPR's Bobby Carter and musician Baby Rose. The winner of this year's Tiny Desk Concert is Little Moon and their song "Wonder Eye." And you can hear them this afternoon on NPR's All Things Considered. Bobby, Baby Rose, thanks a lot.
CARTER: Thank you.
BABY ROSE: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF TINY DESK CONCERT)
LITTLE MOON: (Singing) Count up on fingers all my days to the minute.
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