#weekendvibe Fall in Love Alone with Stacey Ryan
(May 13, 2022) — Stacey Ryan, 21-year old Montreal singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, has the rare gift of turning heartache into beautiful, bubbly soul-pop ballads. “Fall In Love Alone,” her latest single, was written by Stacey about potentially unrequited love, knowing the other person has a hard time committing and hoping she doesn’t fall in love…alone. Stacey showcases impressive vocal runs and harmonies combined with clever lyricism like, “It’s electric every time we touch/ I’ve been living for this head rush.”
In addition to the single, Stacey shares an acoustic video version of “Fall In Love Alone,” shot at the legendary Henson Studios in Los Angeles, CA. Stacey’s acoustic video highlights everything there is to love about her; haunting vocals, dizzying piano prowess, and a simple elegance behind her performance. The acoustic version juxtaposed with the studio recording shows Stacey’s savvy on the mic — she can get on a straight pop record or a stripped back song and she will still shine.
Speaking on “Fall In Love Alone,” Stacey says, “‘It’s secretly hoping that the person you’re falling for or developing feelings for is feeling the same way. I wrote this from my own experience last year and having been through it makes the feelings all the more raw & real. The gospel choir type effect throughout the song, the jazzier chord changes, and the lyrics created this different but familiar effect that I think a lot of people will connect to and relate to the song.”
Earlier this year, Stacey broke onto the scene with one of the biggest TikTok stories of 2022 — a lyrical duet challenge that earned praise from The New York Times and turned into an official release with featured artist Zai1k that later led to Stacey signing a record deal with Island Records. “Don’t Text Me When You’re Drunk,” is Stacey’s deeply personal account of an all-too-common dating experience. The track is a sparkling piece of soul-pop with effervescent textures, bright percussion, and mesmerizing piano work that brilliantly contrast her emphatic refusal to compromise her needs. Stacey’s latest triumph includes landing the support slot on New York City band Lawrence’s spring tour and a Main Stage hometown performance at the Montreal Jazz Fest.
The Montreal native is poised to deliver a body of work showing the full extent of her songwriting powers and one-of-a-kind musical imagination. A trained jazz pianist who also plays guitar, bass, ukulele, and trumpet, she possesses an undeniable knack for lyrical storytelling, melodies that endlessly wander into unexpected places, a singular sense of rhythm and song structure that wholly reflects her jazz background.
After graduating high school at age 16, Stacey followed the educational protocol in Quebec, enrolling in a three-year college program in jazz interpretation, studying voice and guitar. “I remember my parents telling me I should have something to fall back on in case music didn’t work out,” she says, “but I knew it had to be music or nothing else. There was never a plan B.” After three semesters she dropped out in early 2022, to follow her own musical path. She focused on building up her catalog of original songs, while continuing to post the intimate yet masterfully executed covers that had won her an adoring TikTok following over the course of the pandemic.
“Making music has always felt like play to me,” she sums up. “Even though it’s happening on a more serious level now, it hasn’t lost any of that playful feeling at all.” She hopes to instill in her audience a similar sense of abandon. “Usually when I’m singing and really feeling the music, my face will get all scrunched-up like I’m in pain, which people have definitely commented on before,” she points out. “My answer to that is, ‘I can’t control it – and if I ever tried to, it wouldn’t be as good.’ I hope people get lost in my music in the same way, and I hope it makes them feel like I’m taking thoughts from their head and putting them inside a song.”