Savanna Leigh
Singer/songwriter Savanna Leigh recently revealed her latest single “tightrope”.
Co-written with Fran Litterski and produced by Matt Martin, the single is about a friendship breakup and the grief that comes with it. The storyteller once again delivers a remarkable songwriting.
"'tightrope' portrays the heartbreak of becoming strangers with one of my closest friends that brought up feelings of abandonment and the idea of being disposable that I have struggled with a lot of my life. It made me question whether the bond was ever truly mutual. Through this writing process I reflected on the nature of our friendship - the unspoken resentments and the haunting feeling when I think of the memories of someone who was so deeply involved in my everyday life. I experienced an aching feeling because it felt like I was being left behind by someone who seemed to have moved on effortlessly. Truthfully 'tightrope' is a story of betrayal and unresolved emotions. I still have this desperate longing to understand how to let go of someone who felt like family. This song is particularly special to me as it has taken me to a new place that I haven’t gone with my more emotionally-charged songs in the past,” she says.
As someone who also went through a friendship breakup last year, hearing a song like this definitely offers comfort and healing, and I’m sure it will also help more people who might go through this at this very moment. We needed more songs about friendship breakups and Savanna Leigh gave us that.
The new single will appear on her upcoming project for your entertainment, to be released very soon.
“tightrope” is out now !
Hi Savanna, how are you? What have you been up to?
Hi! I am doing okay!! I've got tons going on but mostly good things haha.. I've been traveling so much this summer, which is a blessing, but yeah got back to Nashville pretty recently so catching up on some rest until the fall where I am sure i'll be traveling again!
"tightrope" is your latest single - what's the story behind this song?
There's a lot to this story, it's one that has so many layers to it.. But to summarize it is a story about a friendship breakup and touches on the reality of how fragile friendships truly are, even the ones we are fully confident will last forever. One of my best friends and I had a falling out late 2023, he was someone I considered family, truly like my brother. And so when we went from best friends to strangers overnight, i took it really hard.. for me a friendship breakup is just as painful, if not more painful than a romantic one. And as a close circle type person, who rarely ever trusts people fully, losing him hit 10000x harder.
Could you describe the songwriting/production process behind this project? Who helped you create it?
I started writing this song last year... one night I was sitting alone in my room in Nashville, and I was just feeling so sad, so heartbroken, and honestly a bit angry. I wrote this song over the course of a few months. Finishing a large portion of it alone, on the acoustic, but then hit a wall after some time. I just wasn't sure how to put all of the emotions and things I wanted to say into a chorus, so I messaged my friend Fran Litterski, who is an amazing songwriter here in Nashville that I've been lucky to work with for the last few years. I knew she was the person I wanted to finish this song with. She has a way of making anyone in the same room as her safe to express any thought, feeling, or experience without fear of judgement.. which is so rare. After we finished writing the song, I knew it needed to be on my project this year and so I reached out to Matt Martin... my producer and friend, and we started building the sonic world around tightrope from there. Matt is a gem and is so talented, and creating music with him is magic, I feel lucky to work together.
What did you feel when recording "tightrope"?
A lot of things. I think the overall feeling though was a sense of pride. I am to this day so so proud of this song, and the story it tells. Creating "tightrope" felt like a real shift in my songwriting journey, and every melody and every lyric feels 100% authentic and honest and fully me. It is a reminder that true vulnerability might be difficult to sit with, but the reward of processing the pain can be so worth it.. you can turn something heartbreaking into something beautiful.
What can you tell us about the artwork?
We took the artwork for "tightrope" in the woods in Philadelphia, PA when I was opening on tour for the band Juniper back in June. We legit went to the store, bought red string, and tied me to a tree in the middle of nowhere lol.. It was so hot outside, there were tons of bugs attacking me (my worst fear ever haha), and honestly we didn't know if the concept/vibe of what we were going for would shine through.. but I am really proud of the cover art and how it all turned out. Maren Mcguire, an extremely talented film photographer, tour manager, and good friend of mine shot the cover art. The red string was an intentional choice and has a very deep meaning to me and the whole idea/concept in general.. but I'm gonna leave room for interpretation!
What message do you want to deliver through this single?
That grieving is part of healing. You’re allowed to be angry, hurt, confused, all of it. But even in that, it’s important to take a step back and be honest with yourself too. No relationship ends because of just one person.
What can you tell us about your project for your entertainment?
"for your entertainment" is really just me navigating the messiness of my early twenties in real time.. it touches on themes of heartbreak, independence, yearning, growing pains, best friend breakups, and overall what it means to come back to yourself in the middle of all of the chaos. I wanted it to feel like my fans or anyone listening is getting a front row seat to the circus in my head, but in a way that is self aware, honest, and authentically me... it's real but it doesn't take itself too seriously.
What biggest lessons have you learned since the release of your debut single "no words"?
So many lessons... I released "no words" what feels like a lifetime ago. I think one of the most important lessons to remember is that music, this career, it is a marathon, not a sprint.. a lesson that grounded me back then and grounds me still.
And that trusting your intuition as an artist, as a songwriter, is more important than anything else. Your "brand" shouldn't feel like something you have to create, it should be a natural reflection of all the little things that make you you.
How does social media impact your mental health?
Well sadly it has a pretty big impact. As an independent artist, social media holds a lot of weight.. it's one of the main ways people discover your music and connect with you and the story you want to tell through the world you are building. It can be exhausting, and at times overwhelming to keep up with, but it is also a powerful tool when used intentionally. At the end of the day having healthy boundaries with social media is a daily focus of mine.
What do you want to achieve as an artist?
SO MUCH! But I guess to summarize in a few words, I want to make an impact. I hope my music can bring people together and build community through storytelling and honest songwriting. At the end of the day, I just want to help people feel seen and understood. My goal is to put to words the internal experiences we all share but don't always know how to express.
What can we expect to hear/see next?
New music and hopefully a lot more shows!
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