RihHow It Feels to Be Remembered Me
My latest studio album will be yours tonight at midnight.
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Now, I promised you that the doors would open today.
Please, step inside, make yourself at home.
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Oh, Sorry! I didn't mean to jump out at you. I’ve always hated the uncertainty of opening the door when someone knocks or rings the doorbell... I hate that feeling of not knowing who or what’s on the other side.
"En garde!" is about that fear, that confrontation. It’s a reminder that sometimes we have to face what’s knocking, even when we’re not ready.
"En garde!" is inspired by my debut album Unknown Pleasures. Back then, I had no idea my career would lead me to this moment. Now, looking back, I can see how every door I’ve opened since has shaped the artist I’ve become.
This song is about the frustration of trying to communicate, but never truly being understood. Sometimes I struggle with communicating what I want to say, but you can say everything in your heart and if the person on the other side doesn’t feel it, you're just wasting your time.
"Heard how I felt" draws from my second album ANTHEMS. That album was full of bold and loud statements, but sometimes people just don’t get it. This song is the follow-up to all the times I tried to make someone just understand.
Running in circles—it’s like being trapped in a cycle, chasing something that’s always just out of reach. This song captures that frustration of always feeling close, but never quite getting there. Comparison is the thief of joy and I often always end up comparing myself to my contemporaries, it's like chasing something I’ll never catch.
"Run circles" was inspired by Wild at Heart. That album was fast, free, but directionless. This track takes that restless energy and focuses it on the feeling of constantly chasing validation without finding resolution. I figured it would be fun to take my least... impactful album and sort of make it a confidence booster! I only need validation from myself.
This love song is about the joys of being stuck, even as everything around you seems to change. You go through life thinking things will get better, but sometimes, no matter how much you grow, the core of who you are remains unchanged.
"Through it all, nothing changed" is inspired by Wasteland. That album was all about navigating the ups and downs of the end of the world, and this track is a joyfully apocalyptic love song about a girl who wonders if her man feels like neither of them have changed, even as the world around them drastically does.
Grief is a constant companion, someone you can't ignore. This song is about meeting grief, not as a fleeting emotion, but as someone who stays with you, shaping you in ways you didn’t expect.
"She told me her name was grief" was inspired by my album Showtime. That album was full of highs and excitement and is one of my most "marketable" pop albums to date. When i sat down with her though I was shocked, I could only really remember how during that period of my life I really encountered grief for the first time. This track dives into those emotions.
This song is about striving for perfection and realizing it’s not always about the final product. I'm a perfection, to an extreme for better and definitely for worse. It’s about the practice, the effort, the messiness of trying to create something great, and accepting that the process itself is where the beauty lies.
"Virtuoso" is the only song on the album that was originally recorded for another album, that being Digital Disturbance. That album was experimental and full of creative risks, just like the process of mastering something. This song reflects that same creative energy. I've scrapped and tried to fit this song on so many albums in the past 7 years--Wisteria, ASCENSION, TRUCE, Devil, and more... It wasn't until now that this song finally found a home it fit in.
Sometimes, you reach a point where there’s no longer a need for a conversation, a back and forth—you just decide and move forward. This song is about how sometimes it's okay to let the conversations stop.
"Ain’t no back and forth" is tied to On the Other Side, where I deeply explored a, now ended, relationship and all the push-and-pull that comes with that. This track represents the moment when the back and forth ends, and feeling peace with that decision.
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