“Mama always told me that the ones that leave, they look down on us in golden wings; I wanna believe it, tell me do you believe it?” — “Hold Me Like You Used To” Zoe Wees
The world seems grey the day we lost someone dearest to our heart. Sitting in an empty room, thoughts and emotions pouring in from every angle, submerged the top of our heads. Heartbroken, angry, disbelieved, and vulnerable; we hold on to the little things in memories, fearing they’d be gone too. Dedicated to her great grandmother who passed away, “Hold Me Like You Used To” comes to life in Zoe Wees’s poignant voice, narrating around the most vulnerable moments of grief and loss.
Stretched to the edge of breaking by the overwhelming emotions, you can the sound of her broken heart in between the lines Yet instead of breaking down, Zoe Wees channeled it into her tear-dropping performance. She takes you on a roller coaster with honest, relatable lyrics and powerful delivery. Zoe Wees doesn’t hold back in her performance.
“It is one of the most important songs to me,” said Zoe Wees, “I know people are struggling with the same thing. This song helped me accept what has happened and to not look back again, pushing myself forward.” Released on July 7, Spotify Singles featured a cinematic string version of “Hold Me Like You Used To” and a rendition of Tate McRae’s “You Broke Me First.”
Golden Wings is a collection of devastatingly beautiful songs written from a painfully personal space, featuring hit songs “Control,” confronting her emotional scar left from epilepsy; “Girls Like Us,” struggling with insecurity and self-acceptance. With the symbolic underline of security and strength, Golden Wings stirs the soul, unlocking wounds with therapeutic emotional release.
Written by Katrina Yang
Press Q&A with Zoe Wees
Q (Rising Artists Blog): What would be the reasons that you chose “you broke me first” and “hold me like you used to” for Spotify Singles? What is your special connection with “hold me like you used to”?
ZOE WEES: I feel like Tate McRae inspires me in so many ways. She’s such a good artist, and she’s just gonna go where she belongs to. “Hold Me Like You Used To” is about my great-grandma when she passed away. I know people are struggling with the same things. This song helped me accept what has happened and not look back again, pushing myself forward. It’s actually one of the most important songs to me.
Q: Your music is very vulnerable, how do you deal with the difficult emotions in the first place?
ZOE WEES: Every time when I’m in the studio, it’s so hard for me to find a topic because I’ve got so many things to write about. I always mix them together. For me, it’s really hard to deal with everything. When I write the songs down or write the lyrics with my best friends, I feel so much better. I cried because of it. I forget everything and it just gonna be better.
Q (360 MAG): Can you share any special moments in the making of Golden Wings that reflect your strength and wings?
ZOE WEES: I think the last song I wrote for this EP is “Girls like us.” The one special moment I realized was the first time I’m in a session, I thought about the other people, my wings and my community, which I didn’t have before. I write my own stuff down and I’m thinking about myself for now because that was what I was going through. I know in the end it’ll help a lot of people, so I wrote it down. Now I’m especially taking good care about what my wing can connect to cause I know what they’re going through. We’re writing every day. Maybe one day I’ll do a song about their problems.
Q (360 MAG): That actually leads to my next question. The execution of the message to make people feel less lonely. How do you feel about your fan’s reactions when you know they love it.
ZOE WEES: I’m so happy! They were here from the beginning, you know. We grow together, which is so nice.
Q (NARROW MAGAZINE): Where did you get the inspiration to call your fans “Wings”
ZOE WEES: Golden Wings is strength to me. And when I think of my community is also strength. I wanted to call them my Every time when I’m at my lowest, they push me and they get me up, make me feel like I don’t want to give up.
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