Photo Credit: Nicki Fletcher
Last year, singer-songwriter Brye turned lemons into lemonade – and now has over 5.1 Million TikTok followers to show for it. This year, she’s got a sweet new track to catch your ears and your feels: her newest single, “I’d Rather Be Alone.”
With a certain hypnotic cadence, Brye brings to life a case of expectations vs. reality about relationships – and the realizations that come with it.
“It was written at a time where I felt out of place amongst my friends who wanted boyfriends, because I HAD a boyfriend and I was still miserable,” she tells POPSTAR!
“While I was writing this song, it hit me: relationships are not the fix-all. The solution to my self-esteem problems would not be solved by a boy,” Brye continues. “I had built this idealistic happy couple in my mind, so when we inevitably had conflict, and that conflict turned toxic, it was devastating to my teenage perception of love and dating.”
Check out “I’d Rather Be Alone”:
Brye writes and produces her own songs, and is fast making a name for herself with her expressive lyrics and catchy beats. Her secret? Opening herself up to her feelings.
“If I ever wrote about a subject, it’s because it’s on my mind a lot,” Brye tells POPSTAR! “I use writing as a way to cope with the things that are hard to articulate. Music is my main outlet,”
And what she has to say just connects. Just like her viral hit “Lemons” – a song about her experience with bullying, which became uber popular on TikTok.
“’LEMONS’ was a product of the years of bullying I dealt with, at the hands of older boys, throughout high school,” she shares with POPSTAR! “I tolerated a lot of really abusive behavior under the guise of being ‘polite,’ and ‘likable,’ and it created so much pent-up frustration. ‘LEMONS’ was my way of articulating that exhaustion and fed-upedness.”
Listen to “Lemons”:
Brye doesn’t stop at music when it comes to getting her message out there. She’s using her growing platform to talk about the importance of mental health and other causes close to her heart.
“Something I’ve had to learn is: mental health comes first above all else. I’m in the habit now of prioritizing that when I need to,” she shares. “Lately I’ve been on a deep dive into emotional abuse and how to recognize it. The more I learn the more I hope raising awareness will help get someone out of a bad relationship.”
As for what’s next, “We have a music video AND lyric video for ‘I’d Rather Be Alone,’ coming out so soon. I cannot wait for people to see it,” Brye excitedly shares.
Watch “I’d Rather Be Alone” Music Video:
