Today, alternative pop artist Nathan Zarowny released his second single of the year titled “You Don’t Play Fair.” Following up “Why,” he continues to give us haunting music with emotional lyrics.
“You Don’t Play Fair” is about being somebody’s second choice but not settling for that. The piece opens with harmonic humming, which is one of my favorite aspects of the song. Those hums reappear throughout and become their own instrument. The quiet verses build to the nearly chaotic chorus, leaving you emotionally grasping at something to hold on to. “Now you want me because I don’t want you,” Zarowny sings, with only a piano to accompany him in the bridge, pulling at all of the heartstrings before leading us to the end of the song.
Sound like something you want to listen to? Click here to stream “You Don’t Play Fair.”
“Now I don’t know what to do / I got a call yesterday afternoon from someone I used to know / Summer nights and the way we kissed / Thought I was done, didn’t know I missed it / But when I heard her voice I couldn’t breathe / Tell your mom to stop calling me”
These are the very clever lyrics from 17-year-old Massachusetts native Georgia Webster. Nearly two million people watched her serenade us singing and playing guitar from her bathroom in a TikTok video that went viral last month. I hopped on a Zoom call with Georgia to learn more about her writing process and her new single that drops today.
Georgia started writing songs in fourth grade. “When I was ten or eleven, I started writing songs for school projects. My first song was about Ulysses S. Grant. People in my class kept singing it after because it was catchy. So from there, I wrote songs for other school projects. One was about horses and another was about the Aztecs. Then around sixth grade, I started writing songs about my friends and relationships and it grew from there.”
I asked her what it was like when she found out the video had gone viral. She said, “I was pleasantly surprised. I woke up and it had 100,000 likes and I was like, “What is going on?!” From there, Georgia wanted to get the song recorded and out into the world as quickly as possible. Her dad was a big help with helping her find a recording studio to make the song.
“He has always been really involved in my music. He didn’t have a background in engineering, but he’s figured out all of the sound stuff and helps me set it up for shows. He’s just always helping me.”
After the video went viral, Georgia decided to have the song recorded. “I realized I needed to get the song produced and into a real song.
I asked her what she thought of the song after hearing it recorded, and she said, “This song is definitely–I can hear it being on the radio. I have so many songs and this is the first one that I’ve actually heard it come together as an actual song, which was really cool for me.”
When it comes to writing, Georgia prefers the writing process to performing. “I love writing the songs way more than performing them. I like being in my room and writing songs. Once it comes together, that’s the height of it for me. And my rule is if it takes more than 20-30 minutes, then it’s not a great song.”
“Usually for me, songs start with something that actually happened to me, and then it grows into more of an exaggeration. I’ll write about pretty much anything, but a lot of it is dating and that kind of stuff. If I’m writing about a relationship, it’s not forced.”
Some of the people commenting on her TikToks mentioned that Georgia reminded them of a young Taylor Swift. “That’s the biggest compliment to me. She’s one of my favorite artists and I can see myself being that singer-songwriter vibe but also pop-country. Lennon Stella is also one of my favorites, and I love Chelsea Cutler. They’re such good songwriters.”
Georgia also covers songs on her YouTube, including songs by Mazzy Star, Cage the Elephant, Lennon Stella, and Billie Eilish. You can check out her YouTube page here.
Her plan is to keep building herself as an artist and writing more songs before signing with anyone, but she does have an acoustic version of Tell Your Mom in the works for people that loved the stripped down version. “I want to release an EP soon, and then I also want to do some SoundCloud acoustic covers and stuff that people can listen to.”
She’s a senior in high school now, but she’s thinking of going to Berkley, Belmont, or a music school in California next year. A lover of all types of writing, Georgia has also begun writing a book, but of course today she’s focused on the release of her first single, Tell Your Mom.
“I want people to hear the whole song. Just hearing the little bit of it, you don’t get the whole story line, so I’m excited for it to be out in the world. And I have so many songs that I think people would love.”
Her new single, Tell Your Mom, is out today, and we’re so excited for you to listen to it! Check it out below, and follow Georgia’s SoundCloud here.
Deanna Wheeler had a special birthday yesterday. She kicked off the Hometown Heroes music festival in Austin, Texas, and hosted the show, held at Brushy Creek Amphitheater. This event is the first large scale social distancing live music festival to be held since Covid-19 began closing music festivals in March.
Dressed in all black and showcasing her signature classic country sound, Deanna and her band got the crowd warmed up for the weekend’s festivities in style.
You can check out the backstage pictures and all the photos from the concert below. Head over to Deanna’s website to learn more about her and her music, and follow her on Instagram here.
In the classic Olivia O’Brien style, her latest single “Now” calls out another toxic guy but plays on the tune of Akon’s “Right Now”
“I wanna make up right now, na na
I wanna make up right now, na na
Wish we never broke up right now, na na”
Olivia O’Brien’s lyrics juxtaposes Akon’s from the female’s point of view:
“Maybe we could be in love right now, now, now
Maybe you would be the one right now, now, now
If you didn’t fuck up right now, now, now
We’d be making love right now, now, now.”
Not only does the music tribute the early 2000’s but the music video references pop culture such as the Disney Channel popular series, Lizzie McGuire as well as the trademark Mouse outline.
After the massive success from TikTok viral song, ”Jossalyn,” Olivia never disappoints and you should check out the music video and stream the song right now, now, now.
Skyler Cocco is much more than an indie pop artist. With too many hyphens to put in her title, she does it all. Producing, writing, mixing, and performing, there’s no end to her talents. Today she released another single, one of many this year, called “The Drive.”
Skyler Cocco’s breathy vocals, turning staccato at times, mixed with the dreamy synths paints a picture of the open road ahead and wide sky above. “I thought about it on the drive” is a line we can all relate to, as getting in a car provides little distraction and all the time to think and to overthink. She sings of a mistake made by herself and the hopes to start anew, and while the words should be painful, the music is hopeful and fun.
Go take a listen to “The Drive” and stay tuned for more singles from Skyler Cocco, which we most certainly can expect!
Take break-ups and heartaches, but make it mature and full of growth.
This is what Norwegian pop star Astrid S has given us in the sneak peak of her upcoming debut Album, Leave It Beautiful, to be released on October 16th, 2020.
The singer has already built herself up in a solid foundation within her music career from her 3 previous successful EPs as well as collaborations with artists like Shawn Mendes, JP Cooper, and more.
Not only does her vocal performance kill me in this song, the songwriting within itself could break my heart and sew it back together all in one.
Patience is a thing that I learned from you
That some things can’t feel wrong even though they’re true
Went through all the hard times together
Kept me calm when I’d lose my temper
I’m just really grateful that I had you
From everything to nothing at all
Every day to never at all
I mean, seriously?! It makes me think about how some relationships aren’t meant to be heartbreaking but full of growth and a lesson learned. We should all follow Astrid and take note of her optimism that she’s shared with us in this song. I am very excited to see her experiences with heartbreak and relationships when Leave It Beautiful drops. Check out It’s Ok If You Forget Me here.
Johnny Orlando introduces his latest song, Everybody Wants You, as his first single released from his upcoming EP. Prior to this single, he released ‘‘What If (I Told You I Like You)’’ which features Mackenzie Ziegler and has gained traction as a popular TikTok song.
Fans have been eagerly waiting for more of Johnny and I can understand why. At not even eighteen years old, Orlando has already signed with Universal Music Canada / Island Records, surpassed the two million monthly listeners on Spotify, and even took home the MTV Europe Music Award for Best Canadian Act in 2019.
EverybodyWantsYou talks about a common feeling of jealousy and how he sees attention that comes to someone that everybody else also wants.
And I wish that you would look at me
The way you’re looking at your own reflection (your reflection)
Now everybody’s watching you
And I can tell you’re loving the attention, hah
He teams up with director, Alex P. Smith and animator, Gabe Sapienza for his music video that draws attention to the dark and sad connotation to the song. I’m excited to hear more from Johnny and as we patiently wait for his upcoming EP, stream Everybody Wants You.
The season of festival live streams during quarantine definitely slowed down, but everyone’s itch for live music has not stopped. We’ve recently seen an increase again in virtual events, just in time for the end of summer. The most recent we’ve seen is Virtual Roo-Ality, presented by Bonnaroo.
This event is planned to take place on September 24-26th this year, and just like the festival itself, there will be something happening for everyone. It’s also streamed on youtube, and it’s free. So get pumped.
The full schedule is coming soon, but this is what we’ve gotten so far:
There’s a combination of prerecorded sets, from the Bonnaroo archives such as iconic performances from Beastie Boys, James Brown, The White Stripes, and more, as seen in the “From The Archives” section.
On top of those incredible performances, we’re getting live appearances by incredible artists such as Billy Strings, Boogie T.rio, Hayley Williams, and Tramples By Turtles. These will all be new sets and appearances, not pre-recorded just for our viewing and experiencing pleasure.
One of our favorites from Bonnaroo is the Sanctuary of Self Love curated by Hayley Williams. They are also bringing this to Virtual Roo-Ality with discussions on mental health, wellness, and diversity in creative industries. They’re also bringing in a few other surprises for viewers, to bring it more of an actual virtual festival feel instead of just live streaming sets.
You can catch it all for free, live streaming on Youtube September 24th-26th – and keep us updated on your fav sets! We’ll be watching too.
Heartbreaks, copious amounts of tequila, and love songs, we’ve been there.
This is exactly what Jack Gilinsky has brought us back to in his latest single, LoseSomebody.
He sings about the regret he feels in a past relationship and how he’s come to the realization that he ‘‘Had to lose somebody to miss somebody’’
My favorite part of this song is the bridge. Lyrically, he comes to terms that he is not able to let go and even goes to say that it is ‘ugly’ without the other person around.
These things they come and go
I just can’t let this one free
The only love I’ll know (Ooh-ooh, ooh-oh, ooh, ooh-ooh)
Without you I feel ugly
Jack’s catchy melodies in the chorus accompanied by iann dior’s feature makes this a sad song of the summer. Be sure to check out next time you’re in the mood for sad love songs.
Sydney pop-punk band Yours Truly is releasing their highly anticipated debut album Self Care this week, and we wanted to give you the inside scoop on the album, the writing process for the band, and our favorite tracks!
After massive success from their 2019 EP Afterglow (which has over 8.5 million streams), they were excited to jump back in and work on their first full length album.
“There was this almost electric feeling of excitement about getting to sit down and write our first record but also a huge feeling of anxiety at the same time,” comments vocalist Mikaila Delgado. “We didn’t want to release something and have people say that we’re actually not that good and weren’t worthy of all the success we were getting… it was like we all had imposter syndrome.”
The theme of the album is self care, and is focused on living, learning and the healing process that we’re all still trying to figure out.
“We very much felt like we were in the deep end. It was a huge learning curve, I had to grow up a lot in this time and hold myself together, often feeling so many emotions all stitched into me that I couldn’t comprehend. I definitely felt guilty about being sad when I should have been grateful for how fortunate I had been.”
Self Care is impressive from start to finish, with catchy beats, bold vocals and that classic pop-punk vibe. The album’s lead single Siamese Souls starts strong and punchy and sets up the mood for the album.
Vivid Dream reminds us of our favorite We The Kings or All Time Low song, while still retaining their signature sound. We couldn’t stop nodding our head to the beat. The album rounds out with a slower moment in the acoustic ballad Half Of Me, and finishes with Heartsleeve, where Mikaila sings, “Say I’m not the one who makes you feel the sun. Do you find yourself ashamed to come undone?”
“I wanted to wear my heart on my sleeve with the album and be completely transparent about how I felt, and now I realise that I pulled through and life really is a constant wheel of highs and lows. I’ve learnt to bask in the highs when they’re around.”
The cover art was designed by Sydney-based artist and photographer Georgia Moloney. It’s a cross-stitched human heart with flowers emerging from it, and arms wrapping around it like a hug.
“We really learnt and lived a lot in one year, and writing these songs allowed me to understand myself on a whole new level throughout it all,” Mikaila closes.
“The experience was a true form of self-care that ended with me feeling stronger, smarter, enlightened and positive after a rollercoaster of emotions. For me, this album was my version of soaking in vanilla candles and that comforting taste of chocolate and red wine under blankets. We hope it brings solace to whoever listens to it and can relate too.”
This album had us wishing that we were at a Yours Truly concert rocking out to all their new jams. Yours Truly have created a fabulous album, and we’re so excited for you guys to hear it soon!
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