Alana Springsteen is declaring that her ex needs a “New Number” after questioning their breakup on “Me Myself and Why.”
The fast-rising country star and 2022 Music Mayhem Artist To Watch opened up about the new song while chatting with fans on Instagram live, sharing that she remembers first hearing the demo of the song while driving around in the Hollywood Hills with her manager, Basak, shooting the final scenes of her “California” music video.
“My manager played me the demo of New Number for the first time last year when we were on the West Coast shooting the music video for California. I’ll never forget it. We were right by the Hollywood sign when it came on,” Springsteen explained. “It was Shane McAnally’s voice. I was mindlessly scrolling through my phone and popped up midway through the first verse.”
“I knew I had to be the one to sing those words. This song captures the agony of desperation after a break-up in such an honest way. Sometimes the hurt cuts so deep and the moving on is so hard that seeing past it is almost impossible,” Springsteen continued. “My heart broke hearing this for the first time and it took me right back to moments where I’ve silently begged for help trying to get to the other side of that kind of hurt… moments when I was the one doing the breaking (sometimes having the courage to walk away from the wrong kind of love knowing the hurt will come can be just as hard).”
Penned by Rhett Akins, Shane McAnally, and Ashley Gorley, “New Number” is the first track Springsteen has released that she didn’t have a part in writing.
“This is the first and only outside song I’ve recorded,” Springsteen revealed. “I’m in town writing almost every day. But so are the best songwriters in the world who live right here in Nashville. Who am I to think I’m going to write the best song every single time I put pen to paper? I am honored that Shane McAnally, Ashley Gorley and Rhett Akins, who are arguably some of the most prolific songwriters of our time, trusted me with this song. I believe songs that need to be heard always find their way (some just take longer than others) and I’m so grateful this one took its time and eventually found me. For anyone out there going through this I hope this song helps you heal and feel a little less lonely… the way it did for me.”
“New Number” finds Springsteen singing through a difficult breakup and learning to move on from her ex despite missing her ex and the memories they shared together.
“One that I ain’t dialed at least a couple thousand times / so I don’t have to hear you say hello / and I don’t have to hear you say goodbye / Let me off the hook so I don’t have to wonder / If you don’t need me / You need a new number,” Springsteen sings.
In addition to releasing the new song, Springsteen also shared a music video for the track. The black and white clip perfectly encompasses the song’s message and brings it to life with a simple, raw, emotion-filled video, which you can watch below.
“New Number” follows Springsteen recently released single “Me Myself and Why,” which the singer/songwriter shared in early March.
Co-written by Springsteen, Josh Jenkins, and Pete Good, “Me Myself and Why” finds the Virginia Beach native questioning a breakup and why she ever gave an ex a second chance.
“As a songwriter, I write what I know, and this past year definitely brought its share of heartbreak,” Springsteen previously shared of the track. “‘Me Myself and Why’ is about that heart-versus-head moment after a breakup when you know you need to walk away but you falter, even though this person has given you every reason to leave and not look back. It’s full of passion, conflict, angst, pain, and anger – at myself and at him. I found myself going back-and-forth between that range of emotions a lot when I was in the thick of it in my own life, and I’m so proud that we were able to make the final track mirror the way I felt.”
Springsteen also brought the track to life with a brand-new music video.
“New Number” and “Me Myself and Why” mark the first taste of new music from Springsteen since the release of her debut EP, History of Breaking Up (Part One).
Springsteen continues to pave her own lane in Country music with her contagious sound and relatable lyrics while putting a modern twist on country and creating a refreshing sound that sets her apart from other newcomers in the industry, further cementing her a place in country music as one of the next superstars to come from the genre.
She is currently working on the follow-up to her debut EP, which she recently shared would include these new releases.
Alana Springsteen will be hitting the road this summer to play several festivals throughout the country, including Tidal Wave Festival, Faster Horses, and more. For a full list of upcoming tour dates, visit www.alanaspringsteen.com.
