21-year-old self-taught musician Hannah Grae has dropped new track ‘It Could’ve Been You’ after teasing a clip of the song on her socials, amassing over 3.3 million views on TikTok alone. Written alongside Rob Brinkmann, ‘It Could’ve Been You’ oozes with 00s pop punk energy as Hannah’s stunning vocals are showcased. The cathartic lyrics have resonated strongly with fans online, as Hannah expresses her relief that a relationship has come to an end as she thinks about what could’ve been.
Speaking of the new song, Hannah says: “I wrote ‘It Could’ve Been You’ a while after the breakup. Before that, I found it pretty difficult to write about romantic relationships. I think this concept was a new sense of vulnerability that I wasn’t ready to unlock. I thought for a while about the ways in which I could write about this specific relationship and the phrase ‘what could have been’ kept recurring. I was so thankful and grateful that the relationship had ended, and there were no real hard feelings towards the other person. This is one of the only songs on my second body of work that I’d say is a happy, hopeful and all around positive song. The others are laced with a sense of doom even if they sound happier, which is my comfort when writing. So, ‘It Could’ve Been You’ (conceptually) is completely out of my comfort zone. I wanted it to be upbeat, funny, sarcastic and confident in what it is.
“When writing, we referenced Bowling for Soup, Green Day, Paramore, American Hi-Fi, and Avril Lavigne as well as classic 2000s movies such as Mean Girls and Shrek. We played the opening scenes on loop while writing and this helps me get that magical “this is something great” feeling. I’m so proud of this song and how I finally managed to get over my fear of writing about relationships. I hope that people can scream the lyrics, whetherit’s at one of my shows or in their car, and be confident in the decision they’ve made for themselves.”
