Brynn Elliott is a lot of things: a Harvard alum, a rising star, and simply a good person. With her 2nd single of the year, “Beautiful Things,” out in the world as of March 17th, Brynn is definitely one to watch. Her vulnerable lyricism and comforting voice combine to create songs that feel like a warm hug and “Beautiful Things” is no exception. Following the release, I got the chance to chat with Brynn on Zoom about her thoughts and inspiration behind the track, as well as dive a bit into her background as a musician.
Brigid: First of all, congratulations on your latest single release! How are you feeling about the release, and the response to it?
Brynn: Thank you so much! Yeah, I feel really great about “Beautiful Things”. I feel so many things about it. It’s a song that means so much to me and it’s also extremely vulnerable. On some level, it’s been the hardest song to release. But, it’s been super awesome to hear from folks… their stories and how they connect with the song. I think, for me, it was a song that kind of tries to just explain what I feel like we’ve all been through in the last few years with the pandemic. These different sides of the human experience. It’s just been really awesome for me to hear other people’s interpretations and the way they connect it to their lives. As an artist, that’s always a very fulfilling thing.
Brigid: Definitely. So this song, as you said, is very vulnerable, and it was inspired by a darker time in your life. I want to say, I’m really sorry to hear about the passing of your father.
Brynn: Thank you.
Brigid: At that time, was music sort of a therapeutic thing? Did you find solace in writing?
Brynn: Yes. I think when I first started writing music, I was 15, and the first song I wrote was about a woman who was like a grandmother to me. She was a family friend in Atlanta, where I’m from. She was an artist, a writer, and just an incredible human being. She was sadly passing away from cancer, and I watched her go through that whole process. I think I wrote that song because I was grieving, you know, losing her. I had to write, I remember the first moment I was inspired to write a song. It was like, I have all these feelings about my friend Marie, and I need to get them out into a song. I think I was reminded of that, in a greater way, because my dad was very close to me, a very important figure in my life. I think I remembered that first draw towards music, after June of last year. A lot of the music I’ve been writing has been about that, processing grief. I’ve been drawn to other artists who talk about similar things.
Brigid: Do you feel like you draw most of your inspiration from those influential people in your life?
Brynn: I definitely find inspiration from my heroes, and people I’m learning about. I listen to this podcast about Michelle from Japanese Breakfast, she wrote this book called Crying in H Mart, she lost her mom. I haven’t read the book yet but I’ve listened to the podcast, it’s just so interesting. She does a very different genre from me, but I’m very inspired by her. By her story, and just by her approach creatively in the midst of grief. I still read a lot, I love philosophy. There’s a lot of existential philosophy that talks about life and death, and what it means to exist as a human being with all these experiences. I’ve always drawn inspiration from reading, but now it’s very real. It’s not just books anymore, for me, it’s a real lived experience.
Brigid: Definitely. So one of the most powerful lyrics in the song, I think, is when you say “I don’t know how it ends.” I think it’s so interesting because it highlights the possibilities, it can be either a positive or a negative lyric. What were you feeling when you wrote that, and what does it mean to you?
Brynn: Thank you, Brigid, I am so grateful for this question. I was wondering if anyone would ever pick up on that one! It’s a very intentional part of the chorus. I think when I wrote that, it was just this feeling of feeling deeply out of control. I don’t have control over the events of my life. Like, I couldn’t prevent the passing of my dad. The message really is: let’s just be present in this moment. It’s this idea that when you start hoping again, and start loving again, there’s a desire for control. I think when you lose a loved one and then start loving again, you just want to hold onto it. That’s what that phrase means to me, I would be curious about how others interpret it because I think it can be taken in a lot of different ways.
Brigid: You mentioned that hearing about what this song means to other people has been awesome, what do you personally want listeners to take away from “Beautiful Things”?
Brynn: That’s a great question. I want listeners to take away hope from “Beautiful Things”. I think that even in the darkest season of my life, I have been so floored by the fact that I can still be joyful. I think that’s the real beauty of the human story. There’s beauty everywhere. I just hope that listeners will think about their own lives and be encouraged.
Brigid: Moving onto the music video, I was wondering if you could tell me a bit about the concept behind it.
Brynn: It’s more of a conceptual video, I’ve tended to do more narrative videos in the past. I wanted to keep this video very simple, and play on metaphors of light and dark. If you look at the curtain scene, the curtains have different textures, one is smooth and one isn’t, and it shows the dichotomy of life. We experience these horrible things and then we experience these beautiful things. I just wanted to present that in the video with the different movements, and in my own performance of the song. There are moments where I’m being very intense and sad, and moments where I brighten up. That’s really been my experience over the last year.
Brigid: I feel like it really highlights that life isn’t black and white, it’s a constant gray area. Moving away from “Beautiful Things”, I wanted to ask about why you chose to be a musician. You went to Harvard, what made you want to pursue music instead of a more academic path?
Brynn: I sort of made the decision to be a musician before I went to college. The summer before I went to school, I got the opportunity to open for a Youtuber. I got to open for him, just with my guitar, and I remember after the first week of tour, I called my parents and was like “this is what I want to do for the rest of my life”. I still wanted to go to school because that was really important to me. I knew I wanted to study philosophy or literature, so I just thought it was an amazing opportunity. I think what caused me to make that call to my parents was just seeing how the audience connected with me. I’m addicted to having conversations with people based off pieces of music and art, and I want to continue that conversation for as long as I can.
Brigid: Do you feel like your education has had an effect on your artistry?
Brynn: Yes, I think my education really has had an effect. Writing a song and writing a really good academic paper are very similar. You have a central theme, and in a song you kind of have your thesis statement in the chorus and you build around that. It’s definitely given me a thoughtfulness to my music. I’m really grateful for my experience at Harvard, and that I got to do both at the same time.
Brigid: Yeah, it’s like the best of both worlds. Last question, what’s next for you following this awesome release?
Brynn: I have more songs on the way, I’ve been writing just song by song. I have a few more singles coming down the pipeline, and then I’m working on being on the road! I’ve been playing some shows sporadically. All I want to do is be on tour, so I’m working on that!
Brigid: Awesome, well that’s all I have for you today Brynn. Thanks so much for talking with me!
Brynn: Thank you so much Brigid!
