When Sydney Schmier of Stereo Jane was fighting an eating disorder, she felt like she had hit rock bottom. After turning to prayer and writing to get her through it, she eventually wrote the start of what would become their latest single, “Amen.” After some rewriting and tweaking with her twin sister Mia Schmier, the other half of Stereo Jane, the song was finally ready to be shared this year.
Videos by American Songwriter
“It was a really transitional song for me because it helped me get though that and become more vocal to people about what I went through. That was the turning point of me being able to tell my story to people,” says Sydney.
Although a lot was changed from when the verses were first written, “Amen” remained in the chorus. Sydney explains where the title, “Amen” came from and how meaningful it has turned out to be for both of them.
“We were talking about religion and how we don’t feel that we are very religious, but when you’re at the lowest point in your life, for some reason the only thing you can think to do is pray.”
The music video for this song, directed by Brad Wong, is extremely honest and raw. It’s clear that both members of the band pulled from their personal experiences in life to portray the emotional scenes.
“She had her struggles, I had mine and we were kind of making them one,” says Mia.
“No matter what your low point is and no matter what it’s about, everyone’s been there, so we wanted the idea to represent that,” says Sydney.
For the second shooting of the video, they decided to use a church as one of their locations. “It didn’t really look like a church and that’s what we were going for.” Says Mia.
The underwater scenes that showed Mia and Sydney struggling under the water were filmed in a motel. This portrayed the feeling of drowning and not being able to be saved, but in the end, they come together and learn that they are there to help get each other out of the hard situations.
Because this song covers such a serious topic that many other people also experience, audience members have reached out to share their stories and tell Stereo Jane how much the song means to them.
“Honestly, that’s what makes it all worth it. If even one person tells you that, you think ‘oh, ok I’m doing something right and this feels really good,’” says Mia.
This song started off as a way for these sisters to try and work through a tough time, but it ended up being so much bigger. Now, with this song, their audience is able to connect with them on a deeper level and communicate about an important issue.
See the music video for “Amen” down below:
