Few artists can claim a career as expansive and hard-earned as Michael V. Doane. A multidisciplinary creative, he has performed across Europe, appeared on Broadway stages, and worked throughout New York City as a singer, composer, actor, producer, director, and screenwriter. He is also the co-founder of BULLET RECORDS, which released a dozen successful singles with global distribution.

At his core, however, Doane has always been a singer and a musician.
Even while serving as Artistic Director of the Flatiron Theatre Company and contributing voiceover work to feature films, music remained his constant. After stepping away to focus on raising his young children, he never let that creative pull go. Now, with renewed clarity and purpose, he returns to his roots—creating work that reflects who he is today, both as an artist and as a parent.

“I Know” is a deeply personal declaration of love inspired by Doane’s experience as a father of young twins. As an older parent, he carries a heightened awareness that time is never guaranteed—and that the moments he creates now may live on in his children’s hearts for decades to come.

With that in mind, the song becomes more than a reflection—it’s a legacy. A way of preserving what matters most.

Blending cinematic pop with heartfelt storytelling, “I Know” builds on bright piano melodies, soaring harmonies, and dynamic guitar textures. The result is both intimate and expansive—an anthem of unconditional love and presence.

At its core, the song is a promise: that through every moment—“every fall and every climb”—his children will always be his light.

Directed by Doane himself, the “I Know” music video reflects his theatrical background, unfolding like a stage production brought to life on screen. From the opening moment at the piano, viewers are drawn into a stripped-down, emotional performance that gradually expands into a more cinematic, boundless one.

The visual mirrors the song’s message—moving from intimate reflection to sweeping, open spaces—symbolizing the depth and reach of a parent’s love. Each scene reinforces the same truth at the track’s core: this is not just a song but a lasting expression of devotion.

What brought you back to music in this way?

It’s not necessarily that I ever stopped making music; it’s just that “I Know” felt like a creative story that needed to be told. I’m almost eight years into my journey as a parent now, and emotionally, this is where my songwriting naturally arrived. A lot changes when you spend years raising children and watching time move differently through their eyes. The song and video became less about trying to impress people creatively and more about preserving a feeling I knew was already slipping away too quickly.

How have your experiences in theater, film, and music shaped your work today?

Believe me, I definitely miss living in Hell’s Kitchen in NYC and playing live all the time. But with the responsibilities that come with raising a family, my life naturally shifted, and I can’t live the way I once did. At the same time, all of my creative experiences in theater, film, music, and visual storytelling have helped keep that artistic part of me alive even during quieter periods. Especially when it came time to shoot videos again, I honestly thought I might feel rusty after so long away from performing regularly. But the second the cameras started rolling, boom — the showperson kicked right back on!

What was it like returning to songwriting after focusing on family?

Honestly, I never really stopped writing creatively. Whether it’s songs, ideas for children’s videos, or even rewriting a play I first started years ago, I’m usually working on something in one form or another. I have a little office in our basement that’s become my creative space. No toys, no distractions — just my desk, some coffee, and usually background music playing somewhere. The second I sit down there, I’m ready creatively. If anything, focusing on family didn’t take me away from songwriting. It gave me more life to write about.

What inspired “I Know”?

My kids are almost eight now, and they’re still very glued to me at this stage of life. But as a parent, you also understand that childhood moves incredibly fast, and in just a few years things will naturally change. The song and video have become a way to preserve this exact moment in time while we’re still living in it. I think one day they’ll look back on it very differently than they would now. And if they eventually have families of their own someday, they’ll “know” what I know now.

How did you build the sound of a song that feels both intimate and big?

I wrestled with that balance constantly while finishing both the song and the video. I remixed the track over and over because my instinct has always been to go bigger — bigger sound, bigger effects, bigger drums, bigger everything. But this time I trusted the opinions of a few close friends and collaborators who kept responding more strongly to the simpler versions. That really challenged me creatively because restraint doesn’t always come naturally to me. In the end, I think leaving more space in the arrangement actually made the emotional payoff in the final minute hit much harder.

How important was the idea of legacy in writing this track?

Very. My own mother passed away many years ago, and somehow it still feels like yesterday even though it wasn’t. I spent several months with her before she died, and I kept encouraging her to say or do anything she felt she needed to. That just really wasn’t in her nature, though, and honestly, that was okay. But one day a hospice nurse was at the house, and my mother suddenly had this unexpected burst of energy. She grabbed the nurse’s hand and said, “I don’t know what I would have done without my children here.” That moment stayed with me forever. I think “I Know” was deeply shaped by that experience and by this growing awareness that the people we love eventually become the most important part of our story and our legacy.

How has being a parent changed the way you write music?

Well, the windows to write are definitely much smaller now, that’s for sure. But because of that, I value the moments when I’m alone creatively much more than I used to, and I’ve become a lot more economical with my time and energy. That’s part of why “I Know” feels so special to me. The song didn’t feel forced or overworked. It just came out naturally. Pen to paper, and suddenly it was there.

What was your vision for the video?

I knew the beginning and ending of the video pretty early on, and then the challenge became figuring out how to emotionally earn both of those moments. The balance between cinematic imagery and performance footage was really important to me. Sometimes, when you’re watching a concert film or live performance, the most powerful moments happen when the camera suddenly pulls back and reveals the full scale of the room, the crowd, or the environment around the artist. I wanted “I Know” to have that same sense of expanding scope.

How did your theater background influence the video?

Coming from the theater has always helped me because preparation is such a huge part of creative work. You can’t really deliver a character honestly until you’ve done the work first and put the script in your bones. For me, directing a video is very similar. I like coming into a shoot with a strong visual plan already in place — knowing the important shots, understanding the emotional rhythm, and then allowing room to capture additional beats that might become important later in editing. Some people are great at completely winging it creatively, but honestly, that would stress me out.

What do you hope your children and listeners take from “I Know”?

Well, I teach elementary school, and after “I Know” came out a lot of my students made me little notes and cards congratulating me. Quite a few of them told me they loved the song, but that it also made them feel sad. One of the very first Spotify playlists to add the track was actually called “Sad Again,” so clearly, that emotional side of the song is resonating with people. And honestly, there is some sadness in it for me too because the song is very aware of how quickly time moves and how impossible it is to hold onto certain moments forever. But more than anything, I hope people walk away thinking about the person or people in their lives who inspire them deeply the way my children inspired me to write this song. At its heart, “I Know” is really about love, gratitude, and wanting to preserve those feelings while we still can.