Ok, by the time you're viewing this it'll be 27 days…buttttttt I wanted to do something special for my favorite day of the month and 26 days since the debut of Best Kept Secrets. These songs mean so much to me and they are by far my favorite I've ever written. Production is so much fun and I couldn't have asked for a better turnout for these tracks, but when I'm writing, it's usually just me and the keyboard or guitar. That's exactly how “Dolled Up” was written and I think the acoustic version has a different level of vulnerability to it. I hope you can feel that in this version I just uploaded to YouTube!

Happy 26 days of Best Kept Secrets!!!!!!!

Best Kept Secrets is yours!!!!! And I have so much more to tell you about it. Here's a little track-by-track rundown.

1. Used to This: Sometimes you get along with someone so easily, its comfortable, even. You start imagining what the future could hold. Future laughs, future dates, future memories. Wow, I could get used to this, you think, even if you know it would never work in the long run. This song is about that feeling of starting to like someone when you know you really, really shouldn’t. I was most scared to put out this track because not only was it my favorite song I had ever written, but a few of you on TikTok seemed to like it too!! Asking about release dates, how the song made them feel…one girl even came back a few times to comment and let me know she hadn’t forgotten about it (Caitlin if you’re reading this I remember you!!!!). I was honestly putting off recording it and was soooo nervous on the first session. I really needed to get it perfect, but I wasn’t sure the direction I wanted to the track to go. I was overthinking the lyrics, and my vocals just weren’t vocal-ing on day 1. Eventually I fell in love with that guitar intro, and it led the way for the rest! Most of the songs took about two five-hour sessions each, but I kept coming back to this song to make sure it was the best it could possibly get. It ended up being my favorite track, and I think it opens up the album perfectly :-,)
2. Silhouette: A lot of my songs start with a concept or word I have written in my notes app, and I really wanted to use the word Silhouette as a title. I had probably written it already in a few songs, but one night I came home from this party and sat down with my guitar, and it sort of just poured out of me. Being my sophomore year of college, I was constantly seeing guys that would go around a party and test his luck with just about every single girl there, like some sick round of speed dating. This song is about wanting to be more than just another body to someone. I played acoustic guitar on this track, and was super proud of myself because I’m honestly not the best musician compared to a producer. But it just felt right! The production on this song came together super naturally, almost like the universe had written it out for me.
3. Dolled Up: You know when you’re getting ready to go out with your friends, and the whole time you’re thinking about a specific person you’re hoping to see? So when they don’t show up, it’s almost like why did I even bother? Unfortunately I have been there one too many times. Drinking only makes that feeling more intense. Anyyyyway this song was so fun to record!!!! It had been a scrapped school project for awhile but it went well with the theme of this album so I decided to include it. I think it perfectly encapsulates the emptiness of going somewhere and wishing that person was there with you. If you pay close attention, you’ll hear some sound effects that give the song life—a glass clink, voicemail beep…
4. Covergirl: God, her life must be perfect. Sound familiar? It’s gotten better over the years, but I’ve gone through so many obsessive phases of jealousy for a someone’s career, looks, personality, relationships…I feel like I’m finally at a place where I no longer wish I was living someone else’s life, but when I was a teenager it was really intense. It wasn’t just with celebrities but with people at school, too. I’d try to find the same clothes they wore, listen to the same music, hangout at their hotspots; I thought they had everything figured out. It took awhile, but I realized that no matter how someone can appear, you never know what they’re really going through. And how lucky I am to be me!!!! I wrote probably 7 versions of this song, and there are infinitely more verses I could write for it, but I love the ones I landed on. I think there’s something for everyone to relate to in it.
5. Left Unsaid: I have never written a song faster than this one. People always ask how I start writing my songs, and I wish I had a better answer other than it happens differently each time. I sat down to play keyboard after work as usual, and this was the aftermath. The past few days I had been overthinking a lot. I was spiraling over pretty much nothing: feeling like I carry myself awkwardly, never knowing what to say, or reading into things too much. My producer and I channeled some Imogen Heap-esque production in here, which is a refreshing contrast to the rest of these songs. There were originally 5 tracks on the EP until this last-minute addition, and I think she's pretty sweet!
6. Been There, Done That: “You and my delusions seem to get along” is one of my favorite lyrics from this album. This was the first track we recorded, and the original version was a lot different than the one you’re hearing now. I was planning on recording this as a single, but I was having so much fun that I thought, why stop here? As we recorded the others we got a much better idea of what we wanted the songs to feel like, so we went back and played with this one after we finished the rest. My talented friend Asia played piano on the track, and it was super fun to work on a song together!!! I love that the lyric, “I keep writing the same tracks” concludes the EP. I wrote that lyric about being tired of writing songs about the same person (and still having more to write), but also that frustration and fear that so many songwriters face: every song sounding the same.

I have been wanting to make an album for a long time. I feel so lucky that I was able to work with my producer Armant, who is somehow able to read my mind in the studio. Getting to record every week felt like something I dreamt up!!!! I hope you love these songs as much as I did making them<333333

Can't believe I'm telling you this…My EP BEST KEPT SECRETS will be out this Friday, August 1st!!!!

Made with my talented friend and producer @armantlhx!!! My most favorite tracks I've ever written<33333 Been holding onto these for a longgggg time!!!!!!

Presave