Folk songwriter Zoe Nutt has often found herself lost in the middle of bad-breakups and nudges everyone to try to enjoy the moment more and everyone that is part of those moments. And it’s a message she echoes in the upbeat vibe of her new single. While gossiping with a friend about love and heartbreak, she recontextualized her negative experience into a reflective song titled “Happy,” and it’s not completely about being happy, but rather touches on the reality of break-ups and keeping up appearances.
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“My song “Happy” isn’t actually about being happy,” Nutt told American Songwriter. “It’s about keeping up a facade, pretending to be happy. The song came together when my friend and I were talking about bad break-ups. It was inspired by the feeling that you have to check off certain boxes in life in order to be happy and what that can do to a relationship.”
“I’m excited to share this song now because of its upbeat and happy melody with a message for us all to focus on the people who are important in our lives while we can,” she said. “And, although I’m still stuck at home in quarantine, releasing a song right now feels like I’m reaching out to the world! Jail break!”
Nutt’s excitement to release this single, transfers into the musical style and instrumentation of the song. Which includes pop-centric vocals and melodies, elevated with horn accents and sweeping background vocal harmonies that outline the unique twang in Nutt’s voice, adding a little Americana-Folk flair to an otherwise pop tune.
“Happy” is from Nutt’s upcoming album that marks a huge triumph for her as she ran into a significant obstacle while recording. Studio work came to a stop right in the middle of the process when Nutt began to lose her hearing. While this happens to many musicians, it came as a surprise to Nutt, because she was only 26 during the onset.
Passionate about her project, the songwriter persevered on and finished the album while also undergoing cochlear implant surgery in an attempt to preserve what hearing she still had. Though it took some time, Nutt rose above the setback and stands ready to release her new album this summer, with the help of respected country and pop producers Tammi Kidd Hutton, Ben Phillips and Greg Magers.
With a new perspective and bright future, Nutt wants to pass on the same mentality, saying “, I hope people hear my song and spend a little time just being happy in the moment.”
