Peytan Porter doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone anymore.
The Dawsonville, Georgia native burst onto the scene nearly two years ago with the release of her debut EP In My Head, which earned her a seat at the “ones to watch” table thanks to boundary-breaking tunes with introspective lyrics. She solidified her mark in the genre with her second project Grown earlier this year, which showcased a more mature side to the budding superstar.
Throughout her journey, Peytan garnered a loyal and massive following. With 330k followers across all platforms and 50 million views on TikTok, the emerging artist has already racked up over 10 million streams and earned a number of accolades, including being a TikTok “Songwriter of the Year” Nominee at the 2022 iHeart Radio Awards and a CMT’s “Next Up Now Artist.”
But before she ushers in a new era, the “Therapy” singer closes the chapter of her current one by releasing two new tracks titled In My Head: The Lost Songs. Both written and recorded at the time of her first project, “New For Me” and “For The Good” are finally seeing the light today (June 24) on the two year anniversary of In My Head.
“These songs were in the first batch of songs that I ever recorded to release, so they have been living and being listened to in my phone since then. When we changed kind of trajectories after the first In My Head release as a project, this was part of what was going to come on the second half of that. And the other ones… I just kind of threw away before they were done, but these two were actually done,” Peytan reveals to Celeb Secrets in an exclusive interview.
“And so with it being two years since [In My Head]… I love the number two; I love the number four. So it’s the 24th and it’s two songs for two years. It all just kind of lined up really well to honor that season and to finally put out two songs that I still love that just never got the chance to be heard and listened to. I just really wanted to honor that season of my life before we start moving into the next chapter of my music.”
“For The Good” finds the newcomer searching for a sweeter love, leaning on the insights gained from previous relationships gone sour, as “New For Me” explores coming to terms with a good partner after heartache, and accepting a healthy relationship. When speaking to Celeb Secrets about the stories each song portrays, Peytan said that both “New For Me” and “For The Good” felt like “putting the cover of that book on and closing it and putting it on the shelf.”
“When I wrote ‘For The Good,’ I remember coming in the office and being like, ‘I’ve done it. I wrote the last song on my debut album.’ I was like, ‘this is the last one because the last line of [‘For The Good’] says, ‘heartbreak was one long chapter, but it ain’t the whole book. Now I’m looking for the good.’ And I just loved how that wrapped up an entire project in my brain,” she recalls.
“‘New For Me’ was one of the first songs that I wrote that I was like, ‘I really love this.’ I don’t think that anyone else can portray this the way that I can portray it because it’s so honest. Up to that point had kind of analyzed my feelings, but not in my songs, and that was one of the first ones that I just let myself feel what was happening in my life,” she continues.
“It really does feel like putting the cover of that book on and closing it and putting it on the shelf. I’m excited to give the fans who have really supported me through all of these changes something that honors where they met me, which was that season and era with all the pink and poppy vibes. I feel like this these two especially they kind of weave in between all of the different sounds I have chased and they fit well with where things go to,” she concludes.
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Touting her new music as “barefoot and busty, kind of indie and kind of country,” Peytan confirms that the next chapter is not only much “lighter,” but also captures all of her better qualities of who she is as a person — something that has never been captured in her songs before.
“It’s so much more fun. All of my better qualities are making their way into the music. I feel like I’ve tried to portray that on social media, but until it gets captured in the music, there’s been this gap and the next stuff is really like me. It’s indie country, it’s road trippy, it’s barefoot and busty; it’s honest and it’s goofy and it’s light and it’s fun. It makes me want to be on the road and play shows with these songs forever, so I’m really excited about what’s coming up,” she says.
“I feel like I’ve done the part of my artistic career where I try and prove something to people, and now, the music is really leading me in a way,” Peytan continues. “Before this, I had a vision board for projects before we had even picked the songs. This time, I’m letting the songs pick themselves. I’m letting life experiences shape how the songs kind of bob and weave with other.”
For more on Peytan’s music, watch our full interview below; don’t forget to let us know what you think of In My Head: The Lost Songs by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post of by sliding into our DMs on Instagram at @celebsecretscountry.
You can connect with Peytan by giving her a follow on Instagram and TikTok at @peytanporter.
LISTEN TO “IN MY HEAD: THE LOST SONGS” HERE:
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