Ryan Wright
Ok so “Happy Birthday (Go Fuck Yourself)” by Ryan Wright is one of the biggest pop records I’ve heard lately. The production is insane, the mix is perfect, the melodies are brilliant, the vocals are stunning. The song is edgy, cool, fun and memorable. “Happy Birthday (Go Fuck Yourself)” is nothing but a SMASH.
Ryan Wright is an incredible talent/artist and I’m proud to feature such an amazing song on my blog. I’m excited to hear more from her :)
Go stream “Happy Birthday (Go Fuck Yourself)” - out now !!
Photo credit: Meredithe Ettrich
Introduce yourself - what's your story?
I’m Ryan Wright. I’m 18 years old and I’m from Northern Virginia, about 30 minutes outside of D.C.
How would you define Ryan Wright, the artist?
I would define “Ryan Wright, the artist” as someone who is using music to creatively make sense of her thoughts and ideas. My music is always very emotional, often focusing on feelings that are confusing and even painful, but I try to frame them in a way that makes them seem surreal.
"Happy Birthday (Go Fuck Yourself)" is your new single - what's the inspiration behind this song?
When I started writing my new single, I was just getting into a potential relationship and the song was purely fictional. Just an imaginary concept I had where I show up to a guy’s birthday party and run into all these random girls he’s been hooking up with. When I finished the song a month later, my *potential* relationship had ended and I was pissed and in peak heartbreak. I think I channeled a lot of the anger and confusion that came out of that heartache into the production and vocals. It began as an angry song but it got a lot angrier after that relationship fell apart.
Could you describe the songwriting/production process for this single? Who helped you create it?
The writing and production process of this song went the same way it does for most of my songs. I come up with 60% of a song when I’m shampooing my hair and immediately get a voice memo of the idea after I’m out of the shower. The next time in the studio I play it for my producer (who is also my dad.) For some reason it’s not weird working on angry love songs with him. Those are his favorite kind of songs to write/listen to so we both just get psyched about making the song crazy. As soon as he heard the voice memo for HBD he immediately wanted to finish writing it and throw it into Pro Tools. Our production process varies from song to song. We listen to a TON of music. We hit every decade of music we can searching for inspiring sounds and then slowly build a feel and tempo for the first verse of my track. It can be a long and sometimes frustrating process to find the beat or synth sound or random noise that sets the wheels in motion on a new song. When we finish the vocals and get the production to where we feel it’s 80% there, we send it over to our co-producer, Ethan Mentzer who takes it to another level. Synth parts come back to us mangled and trippy. Guitars that don’t sound anywhere close to guitars are added and the bass is in a place where we can really feel it. Ethan’s additions are always insane sounding the first time we listen to it. Then we are reinspired to go back into the vocals a bit more for final touches. Ethan then mixes it and we send it to my manager and cross our fingers.
What did you feel when writing this song?
I felt very confused at the time I was writing and recording it. I was talking to someone at the time who led me on to no end and I felt very unlike myself during that time. It was a hard period of time for me mentally and I tend to feel things very deeply, so it put me in a hole for a bit where I just felt like I was going through the motions and everything was just happening around me. A lot of those emotions and inner rage came out into that song because I didn’t get to have the final word in the relationship. I didn’t confront the problem and I let it hang in the air until it went sour and that lack of speaking my mind and those bottled up emotions became this song. So I guess in a musical way, I did get the last word.
What made you want to release "Happy Birthday (Go Fuck Yourself)" as a single?
I talked a lot with my producers and my manager and we agreed that Happy Birthday (Go Fuck Yourself) was a handful of things: a WTF title, a great angry fun pop song that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and a good summer song for anyone who wants to tell somebody who did them wrong to “fuck off” on their birthday (which is everyone). It was powerful and blunt and it had production on it that was weird and on the edge. I really feel like it’s the perfect song to get everyone ready for the batch of songs I’ve got coming next.
As an artist, what is the hardest part? And what is the best part?
The hardest part of being an artist is probably the fear of being a hit or miss. My dad is a musician, so I’ve grown up surrounded by the highs and lows of the music industry my whole life. That gamble you take of putting yourself out there and not knowing if you’ll be successful scared me so much that I didn’t decide to fully commit to being an artist until late into 2020. I’ve learned a lot over the past year: that it takes hard work and that what’s meant to be will be. And that it doesn’t mean you’ve failed if you aren’t a billionaire as long as you’re happy, and as cheesy as that sounds, it’s true. The best part for me is that euphoric feeling you get when you’ve made something cool. It’s like butterflies in my stomach every time my dad and I come up with a lyrical hook that gives you goosebumps or even when he plays a synth sound by accident and we have a ‘that’s the one’ moment. It’s one of the best feelings in the world.
What does it mean for you to be an artist?
Being an artist is one of the coolest jobs you can have. I have never been a logical kid and school wasn’t always my cup of tea, but music and artistry was the perfect creative outlet for me. It’s the best form of expression since I’m not a very confrontational person and I sometimes let people walk all over me. Through my songs, I can rant about anything, spill all of my ugly emotions out, and yell at someone, but it will still be art.
You grew up in Virginia. Did it impact the music you are making today? What did you grow up listening to?
I grew up in Loudoun County in Northern VA and was raised by four parents and my grandparents. My music taste is diverse to say the least. My dad loves power pop and he introduced to me one of my favorite bands, The Cars. He used to drive me around in his Subaru to run errands and we’d geek out to Foreigner, Kiss, and Toto. My aunt played me my favorite band of all time, The Killers, for the first time when I was two years old—I would come home from her house singing profane lyrics that drove my mother crazy. My mom likes Madonna, Fountains of Wayne, and Jeff Buckley—an odd combination but still added to the long list of artists that I love. My grandparents lived with me for most of my childhood and they really shaped the melodic structure of my songs. My Granny used to play me 50s and 60s doowop on our ancient Bose Radio. She played me so much Roy Orbison, The Everly Brothers, and The Mamas and The Papas, and those artists really led me to have a serious appreciation for the timeless melodies.
What are your thoughts on today's music industry? If you could change one thing, what would it be?
I think that the music industry is constantly changing. No one knows what’s going to blow up next. The one thing that I would change is how fast-paced it is. I think it could be slowed down a bit to let new music and trends really sink in because it seems we only like things for a hot minute before it’s on to the next new thing.
What advice would you give to young artists?
I would say to not be afraid of trying new things. That may be cheesy, but I’m definitely guilty of immediately freaking out over something new sounding weird instead of taking the time to let it sink in. It’s so much better to let something breathe than shut it down because you could really miss out on something cool.
What biggest life lesson have you learned so far?
The biggest life lesson I’ve learned so far is the golden rule: treat people the way you want to be treated. My stepdad is a big believer in that and he instilled that in me since I was a little kid, misbehaving and throwing tantrums over small things. It really does develop you as a person and helps pave the way for surrounding yourself in goodness and positivity.
In your opinion, what would make the world a better place?
I feel like I don’t have an exact answer for what would make the world a better place because there is so much that needs to be better. But I do think that everyone could be more caring, whether that be of the earth itself, other people, or even just of themselves.
What message do you want to deliver to the world?
I think the message that I would deliver is that there is no such thing as normal. Nothing is normal and you don’t have to feel obligated to fit social norms or standards in order to be successful or happy. My music is all about that relatability of feeling like you’re the only person in the world who has to deal with certain emotions, feelings, and anxieties. I want to normalize the non-normal.
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