by danielle holian
photo courtesy of brynn elliot
Atlanta-born, Los Angeles-based Brynn Elliott is back with her brand-new single “Tell Me I'm Pretty” from her forthcoming EP CAN I BE REAL?, which was co-written with songwriter Michelle Buzz, who has worked with the likes of Katy Perry. The official music video was directed by Lauren Dunn, who has worked with the likes of The Weeknd.
Her debut extended-play Time Of Our Lives, which was released in 2018, was a breakthrough debut with her highlighted track “Might Not Like Me.” From being named YouTube’s influential “Artists On The Rise” program, to being on a series of national TV shows, this songstress is cementing her way fabulously into the music industry.
Now signed to Atlantic Records, she's achieved a lot to date with her musical abilities. In addition to playing over 250 shows both on her own and as a special guest to such artists as Brandi Carlile, Grace Potter, and Alanis Morissette, this songstress caught up with Unclear Magazine to discuss her new music, and more below.
For our readers, please tell us a bit about your background in music.
Brynn: “Hi! My name is Brynn Elliott and I started writing music when I was in high school applying to college. No one in my family had applied to college before so it was a pretty overwhelming time and I gravitated towards music as a way to unwind at the end of long school days. I started writing songs in my bedroom and ended up taking a year off from school after high school just to focus on music. I then got an opportunity to go on tour and play live that year and that’s really when I knew I wanted music to be my life. I was accepted to Harvard, which was also a huge dream of mine. I decided to go to school and pursue a music career at the same time because I didn’t want to give up on either dream. So I went to school and tried to write songs from what I was learning about in my philosophy degree. I played every show I possibly could during college which ended up being over 200 shows opening up for artists like Alanis Morisette, Brandi Carlile, and O.A.R. I was then introduced to Atlantic Records and Big Yellow Dog and signed with them my senior year of college. I’ve been releasing music and touring ever since.”
Who or what are your musical influences?
B: “Artists like Avril Lavinge, Taylor Swift, and Meghan Trainor have influenced my love for making empowering pop/rock songs. I also really love live rock performance and try to incorporate that into my live show. That aspect of my artistry was inspired by my dad who took me on a road trip as a teenager for the sole purpose of introducing me to all his favorite bands of the 70s and 80s like Chicago, The Stones, and Guns N’ Roses.”
Can you give a bit of background into your new single, “Tell Me I'm Pretty?”
B: “I first had the idea for ‘Tell Me I’m Pretty’ back in college. The men’s soccer team at that time rated the physical appearance of various members of the women’s soccer team in a leaked group chat. These men literally gave a numerical rating on their ‘hotness’ and used some of the most horrific language to describe these women. I always knew I wanted to write a song to capture how I was feeling in that moment. I had the line, ‘Maybe I’m worth more than some numbers or a score’ thinking of my friends on the women’s soccer team and moments where I personally have felt rated on my appearance and objectified.
The song really came to fruition after being on the road for a few years promoting my first EP and meeting younger girls who have grown up in the age of the internet. While the internet is good for so many things, it can also really take a toll on how women view themselves. There’s so much pressure to look a certain way or live up to unrealistic standards of beauty. So I wanted to write a song of inspiration to those younger women and to me that our worth is not found in or defined by how we look in our selfies or our ‘social media ratings’ as it were. It’s about who we are — that’s where true beauty is found.”
How was the recording of the music video for “Tell Me I'm Pretty” as well?
B: “Filming the ‘Tell Me I’m Pretty’ music video was definitely one of the highlights of my career so far. Going into the shoot I had very specific ideas on what I wanted it to be and it was so exciting and monumental for me to see it come to life. With a song that’s about self-image and the internet the first thought for the video would be to somehow make it about selfies, make-up or modern beauty standards. But I wanted to show that it’s not the internet that started the objectification of women. This is something that has been here throughout history. So the ornate setting was really meant to show how even in this world that looks so pretty, baroque and almost like a romanticized Jane Austen mini-series, women were actually struggling back then in very similar ways to the way women struggle now. They had corsets to change their bodies, we have filters.
It was also so incredible working with the director Lauren Dunn. She totally got my ‘period piece’ vision for the video. I remember our first conversation where I was explaining what I wanted it to be and she said, ‘I think I was meant to do this because my mom is literally a collector of French baroque antiques.’ She already knew so much about the visual world I wanted to capture. It was a match made in heaven.”
photo courtesy of brynn elliot
What inspired you to focus on identity, self-image, and finding one’s place in the world for your forthcoming EP?
B: “I decided to focus on these themes of identity, self-image and finding one’s place in the world in large part because those were questions I was asking myself post-graduation whilst writing this EP. After graduating I was immediately on the road promoting my music and loved it so much. I love the performance part of what I do, but I also don’t want to get caught up in the glitz and glamour of it all. I always want to perform from the most authentic place in myself, warts and all because I think that’s the kind of artistry that really cuts through. And so I quite literally wanted to ask myself ‘where am I really at right now?’ and answer that directly and literally in the music. So the songs are me being honest about who I am, even the parts that are vulnerable to share. They are songs about me being honest with my feelings in love, etc. And I hope that this honesty encourages others to be the most authentic version of themselves and is encouraging to them on that front.”
And you expand on the thoughtful yet emotionally potent lyricism of your debut EP. How important is it for you to have meaning behind your work?
B: “Yes, my songwriting process is deeply rooted in what I read. That’s just what inspires me, speaks to me and grabs my attention as an artist. And philosophy itself is so gripping to me because it asks the central questions about what it means to be human which I think songs are inadvertently doing too. So for this upcoming EP I drew a lot on the work of Soren Kierkegaard when he writes about authenticity. He once wrote, ‘The most common form of despair is not being who you are.’ And I hope my music inspires anyone listening not to live with that kind of despair.”
What do you want the listeners to take away from your music?
B: “I hope that listening to my music is a joyful, beautiful and hopeful experience for people. Personally, I’ve always listened to music to help me through the hard things of life and so if I can write songs that are helping people through their pain and struggle, then I think I’m doing what I was put on this earth to do.”
Finally, what sort of projects can we expect to see from you in the future?
B: “More songs! I want to release music that leads to an album. My dream is to make a classic pop album that people don’t want to stop listening to.”