Rising Vancouver pop artist and producer Serena Sun returns with the release of her extremely vulnerable and empowering new single “Body,” available for streaming today. Co-written and co-produced by Serena and Tiger Darrow, the track showcases what is to come from her debut album anticipated to drop later this year.
Through the guise of a vibey pop track, Serena’s new single discusses an extremely personal experience that she endured. She put that experience into her evocative lyricism that takes the power back to reclaim what many have lost through similar situations.
“This song is about sexual assault. I was sexually assaulted by a friend in university and was really shaken by it. Ever since I started pursuing my career as a songwriter, I’ve wanted to write about it but haven’t been able to find the words until now,” she shares. “I was on a trip to New York when my dad sent me an article about a protest against sexual assault going on at a university here in Canada.
I was in my hotel room at the time, and was so upset that sexual assault was still such a prevalent problem on university campuses (and in general) that I wrote this song in 30 minutes. It felt so good to finally express it and have the lyrics also feel empowering to sing. I felt that it was important to bring another woman on as a producer and songwriter, so I worked with the incredible Tiger Darrow to bring this song to life.
I hope that anybody who has gone through a traumatic experience will listen to this song and feel empowered, and enjoy singing (or screaming) the lyrics “F*ck you for trying to claim my body.”
What do you think is the most important aspect of your life right now?
My career focus right now is definitely building up my discography with songs I’m truly proud of and that represent me honestly as an artist. I am currently spending most of my days in writing sessions, and just getting excited about all the new music that will be coming out this year!
Outside of music, the most important aspect of my life has always been, and will hopefully always be, building strong, loving friendships with the people in my life.
What makes this song special in your opinion?
I think ‘Body’ is one of the few pop-leaning tracks I’ve heard that touches on the topic of sexual asault so explicitly. I also love that this song was written and produced by women because that’s not as common as you’d think in this day and age.
What inspired this track?
I was visiting New York when my dad sent the family groupchat an article about rallies against sexual assault happening on a college campus here in Canada. I was sexually assaulted my freshman year of university and didn’t have the emotional capacity to talk about it, let alone report it, when it happened. Reading the article made me so upset because I had the knee jerk reaction of “are you serious?? This is still a problem?” I ended up making a demo of the song on the spot and brought it to Tiger Darrow to help fully flesh out the idea.
What are some of the core messages here?
One of the core messages is definitely that the perpetrators of sexual assault are always at fault. It is never the victim’s fault no matter what circumstances led them to be wherever it happened. Another thing I wanted to show through the lyrics was that over time, I was personally able to heal to a degree where I feel like I now hold the power that was stripped from me; I want those who go through experiences with sexual assault to feel less alone in their struggles, and also have hope that things can change over time.
How do you think tik tok and social media are contributing to change an artist’s career?
This is definitely a very interesting time to be entering the music industry because of social media. Apps like Tiktok definitely give artists a much greater level of potential reach compared to what was available to individual people in the past. One of the benefits is that you have the ability to connect with new and existing audiences wherever you have access to wifi; a negative side of that is how saturated the space is, and how there’s a new added responsibility and pressure to be creating content in these formats.
What excites you about your life?
Aww man. I am so excited and grateful to get to share my experiences in song form. I’m also so excited about the different people I get to meet and work with in this industry. Over the last few years, I’ve been exposed to so many talented and kind individuals; it really inspires me to keep growing in my craft and making songs I truly love.
