Holy balls! “Hang Out With You” is here!!!

It’s here!! It’s here! It’s heeeeeeere! “Hang Out With You” is out today! Michelle Chamuel and I wrote this song when I was under serious pressure to write the next “hit.” I got so fed up trying to write something everyone else wanted me to write and at one point I just said, “I don’t want to write a song. I just want to hang out with you.” Michelle yelled, “HOT DOG! That’s a song!” And then I thought, “who should produce it…? YOU, most talented woman!” And it was done. Michelle killed in the studio and engineered and produced the track. Our friend and very talented Jeremy Cays did the mixing. Emily Lazar and Chris Allgood did the mastering and I did the graphic design.

This collaboration has been 3 years in the making, and I am pee-my-pants excited about being able to finally share what we’ve been working on! I AM SO HAPPY TO BE MAKING MUSIC ON MY OWN TERMS AND I’M JUST REALLY PROUD OF THIS LITTLE PUPPY (pun absolutely intended).

I haven’t been advertising the fact I’m no longer on Capitol Records, but I think it is important to let y’all know I’m independent. It is a little scary doing this on my own, but I love being at the helm. Being held accountable on all terms of the music is a welcome change. In this way, I’m betting on myself, you know? In that way, it is such a relief to be out of an industry that is often propelled by fear, but now there are many new challenges that I am still navigating. We’ll see how it goes! I am hopeful! The video for “Hang Out With You” features ME hanging out around Seattle with a golden retriever, co-star Lana (my sister’s adorable dog). I reached out to my dear friend and talented director, Zoe Rain, and said, “Okay, I got this idea: Dogs and Crop Tops.” I wanted to incorporate rescue animals, so I reached out to The Shelter Pet Project and friends that worked at local shelters, and as a result, most of the dogs featured in the music video were rescues. Although, you’d never have known it. Most of them look so healthy, and I think it’s because of the amazing nutrients they have been given through providers like Ultimate Pet Nutrition – check out the Ultimate Pet Nutrition promo code here. I knew straight away that they would look really good in my video, and I’m glad I took the huge step to have them in my video.

I had so much fun spending time with all the gorgeous rescue dogs on the set of this music video, making sure they were well fed and looked after, as well as just enjoying their company. I’m sure the handlers fed them well – a friend of mine gives their pups very specific food after reading a bunch of Nutra Thrive Dog reviews online, and it works for them. Catering to these needs is vital though. A lot of the dogs we got to film with were actually older dogs so we made sure that they got plenty of rest in between takes. After all, it is no secret that older dogs are more prone to orthopedic issues. Thankfully, the dog handler on our set provided some special dog beds for my furry co-stars to rest on when they were not being filmed. Apparently, these beds offer a superior night’s sleep for older dogs. To be honest, I was very tempted to join some of the dogs on their beds at one point! They just looked so comfy!

I hoped that using rescue dogs would inspire other people to adopt rescue dogs and give them a lovely home. Of course, having a dog can be expensive and a big responsibility, but some people may decide that they want to adopt one. New dog owners might want to look into things like how to check quality of dog food to make sure they’re feeding their dogs the correct food. That could be worth checking.

Anyway, one thing I’ve learned from this project is to repeatedly check in with myself when I am making art. Rather than ask myself, ‘Is this cool?’ I have been asking myself, ‘Am I having fun? Do the people I love smile when they see this?’ Every time I do that, I’m able to step back, re-evaluate, and make sure that what I’m creating is genuine, without a barometer of ‘coolness’.

I love you guys. Thank you for supporting me and allowing me to be an artist that is able to fully express all facets of my artistic identity. So much love to you. Thanks for watching! You can buy the track here:

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