Listen to ‘Dandelion’ by Brina Kay
Nashville, TN: Country-pop artist Brina Kay releases new EP and video Dandelion. Brina Kay’s new project is a beautiful and gentle reminder to love ourselves through all seasons of life. The EP is available on all streaming platforms and you can watch the video here.
Brina Kay releases her new project Dandelion, an EP and video reminding others that it’s okay to be exactly who you are. The music video depicts Brina Kay looking back on a younger version of herself, remembering the days when she was judged for being different from everyone else – too energetic, singing too loudly, and standing out in the crowd. As the video goes on, the younger version of Brina Kay begins to find confidence in herself, becoming less concerned with what others think of her. All the while, Brina Kay watches back with pride in her younger self. Throughout the song, Brina Kay seems to be not only reminding her younger self, but also the listener that: “Dandelion, won’t ya stop your cryin’, you were sent to brighten up the world my girl, they’ll never hold you back/If they don’t pick you, it’s just ‘cause they don’t get you, you’re a wild thing they can’t contain, but there ain’t nothin’ wrong with you,” a sentiment that all of us need to hear from time to time when things feel hopeless. This is a perfect video to start off Mental Health Awareness Month, with its beautiful and touching message to all of our younger selves.
Kay shares, “This song especially (but also the EP as a whole) is essentially a letter to my younger self, but I’ve also realized its message still resonates with me as I navigate adulthood. When I was a kid, I often felt like I wasn’t always accepted. I was overly energetic, I was “weird” and I tended to question authority and the status quo way of doing things. Back then it made me feel like I didn’t belong, or that there was something wrong with me, but I’ve grown to realize that those attributes are what makes me unique and special, and they’re something to be proud of. If I could get in a time machine and have a conversation with that little girl and show her who she’s going to become, this song is what I would tell her, and the video is what I would show her. It is now something I lean on whenever I feel misunderstood or undervalued.”
DANDELION EP AND VIDEO
Written by: Brina Kay (all tracks), Tai Shan (“Light Me Up”),
Justin Love (“Rather Hurt You Now”)
Production: Tommy Anderson
Video Director: Melissa Gotay
Director of Photography: Giovanne Gotay
Main actor/Dancer: Hope Lang
Video production: Melissa Gotay
Gaffer: Ryan Paulaitis
Editor: Giovanne Gotay
Set assistants: Nicole Waterkotte, Brianna Dill, Isabella Shilliday
Dance Studio: Rockstar Dance
Choreographer: Melissa Gotay
Assistant Choreographer: Mel Shilliday
Brina Kay’s first release out of Nashville, “Horizon” charted on the highly acclaimed She Wolf Radio, which has featured rising country stars such as Tiera and Lainey Wilson. Kay’s next two singles followed the same success, with “Heat of the Moment” reaching number eight and “Into the Sun” reaching number one. Brina has been featured in numerous publications and news outlets, including Chicago’s Daily Herald and WGN News. Her music has regularly featured on iHeartRadio country station Chicago’s Big 95.5. Brina recently released her single “Rather Hurt You Now” feat. Justin Love and the single was seen on highly esteemed playlists, including The Academy of Country Music’s Fresh Music Friday playlist.
Kay was voted 4th place for Artist of the Year (alongside Gabby Barrett and Miranda Lambert) and 2nd place (to Kelsea Ballerini) for Music Video of the Year in The Women of Country’s Best of 2020 Awards.
With influences such as Natalie Maines of The Chicks, Kacey Musgraves, and Taylor Swift, Brina Kay’s music is empowering and thoughtful, with lyrics that will move you and make you reflect. Her fusion of pop, country, and even dramatic musical theater stylization makes Brina stand out as an artist in the vast country music genre.
Brina got her start in entertainment growing up in Illinois, where she learned to play the violin. She then went on to pursue her education at The University of Nebraska Lincoln, where she collaborated with bands and found her true love for the arts through literature and music. She then moved to Nashville to pursue her dream full-time.
“I have always thought that music is what we turn to when words fail. I feel like it is something innately human, something that we’ve done across cultures for thousands of years. It brings people together, it helps people feel less alone, and it’s something we turn to at the height of our happiness and the pit of our despair. I want to be a part of helping people feel that.” – Brina Kay