“Here’s my one sad song, I’ll get over it” says songwriter Hope Waidley in the chorus of her latest release ‘Sad Song.’ Well, we are not over her yet.
Hope’s music has an undeniable soul and she has an infectious energy (take a peek at her Tik Tok and last music video for reference).
She confesses the overall vibe of the video sparked from a couple of successful thrift store shopping sessions.
“My friends and I do this thing where we go to thrift stores and buy the ugliest things we can find then we get all dressed up and go out in our ugly clothes. Because of this, I have so many leftover wigs and dresses and hats. I grew up listening to artists like Avril Lavigne and even Hannah Montana, and the mix between these artists and my leftover thrift gear all came together.”
The 20-year-old self taught singer, lyricist, and guitarist has talent beyond her years and her unique rasp and breezy vibe gives her a sound that is all her own. The Michigan native credits her musical influences to Amy Winehouse, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, and Bob Marley. This past summer, she released her debut EP Wonder.
She told Mundane she ‘wrote Sad Songs when I was quite sad and confused.I felt like I needed to stop letting it kill me because I was having a very hard time with the situation. This was me making myself only write one sad song about what was going on, literally, or else I would have spent two weeks writing 50 depressing songs that wouldn’t have helped me when it came to having a better mentality.
Sad Song was written in my childhood bedroom, and I sang it over and over, and then recorded it shortly after.”
Hope is a wordsmith and her lyrical flow and imagery is very compelling.
“I’ve always been a massive word person, certain words together or sentences that are unique always draw me in and take me to another place. This started for me mainly in church. The pastor would say something that would hit my heart so hard with the most wonderful sentence. I think it is church, reading books and the Bible at a young age, where I learned the power of words.”
Everything from Hope’s everyday life can become a song.
“I noticed about a year ago that often my songs revolved around conversations I wanted to have with someone but wouldn’t, so then, I would write a song that gave me a feeling of contentment as if I had this conversation.
I’ve realized this was me being afraid to share how I really felt, and I’ve tried to since then work on this and get better at communicating. These feelings I was scared to discuss with whoever the subject of the song was were usually feelings of hurt or confusion.
By telling someone I felt hurt, I thought it would make them feel hurt which I never wanted, so nonetheless, I would spare everyone from being hurt and just pour it all into a song.”
The five track project includes fan favorites “It Rains in Michigan” and “Born Again.” Most recently, Hope released a tenderhearted cover of John Lennon & Yoko Ono’s “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” and the video for fan favorite “Stars”. She has garnered 40,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and is just getting started!
