Nashville-based singer stef is a confessional songwriter and simply wants to make you feel. Hailing from Huntsville, Alabama, stef’s creative dream seemed nothing more than a dream growing up in a Southern town. Initially moving to Nashville to pursue a conventional country sound, the songstress found her footings in pop drawing inspirational makings from the likes of Dua Lipa and Lennon Stella.
“hi, my name is lonely” is a staple track off of the twenty-one-year-old’s second EP, A Glitch in Our Virtual Reality, following her first EP, Why Do I Cry When I Laugh in 2019. This single is a dynamic narration of the culmination of mixed feelings after a breakup and then seeing that ex out and about with somebody new on their arm. Am I getting over you, or am I getting to know myself?
With the aid of music video directors Noah Tidmore and Bryant Burrell, “hi, my name is lonely” has been brought to the big screen. When stef initially met with Tidmore and Burrell, she “wanted to keep it slightly creepy as well as the dark to match the track.” Filmed in an old paint warehouse, the ambiance captures the character’s loneliness as she navigates a new chapter of independence. Living alone and loving yourself doesn’t have to be a sad thing.
stef sings, “Pour your hand and cry / Then you go outside / Pretend you’re alright / But everything inside screams / Hi, my name is lonely, lonely, thought you’d never know me / Lock me in a closet but the darkness keeps me growing.”
Pop-rock, punk, influenced by Paramore and Avril Lavigne, is making a comeback and the singer + songwriter encompasses just that. From Huntsville, Alabama, to Nashville, Tennessee, the singer + songwriter indeed exceeds all expectations cast by a small town.
