IT’S TIME TO ‘WAKE UP’: NEW ETHEREAL DELANEY BAILEY SINGLE
Delaney Bailey dropped her newest single “Wake Up,” and it's the perfect late-night motivational anthem, one that feels reminiscent of a starry-skied midnight walk alone — exactly like the one she sings about in the first verse. Using auto-tuned vocals and light, yet powerful instrumentation, Bailey sings directly to herself and to listeners about saving yourself from the fears and depression of life, because you’re the only one who truly can.
The 24-year-old Chicago singer-songwriter has been releasing music for a few years now, with one album and two EP’s under her belt. The 2022 song “j’s lullaby (darlin’ i’d wait for you)” has amassed over 134 million Spotify streams after taking off online, cementing Bailey as a songwriting outlet for those feelings that are trapped in the back of your mind, hesitantly wishing for a release. With “Wake Up,” Bailey is continuing a highly anticipated new era of music. Her previous single “Lion” dropped earlier this summer accompanied with a music video as pleasing as her vocals and a prime example of Bailey’s perfected storytelling-through-song ability.
The song starts off slow and quiet, with Bailey’s vocals being the main things listeners grasp on to. With the occasional piano note underneath, we dive into a Bailey coated in ethereal auto-tune, singing about getting lost in those unwanted thoughts of isolation and having no one there for you.
The phrase “wake up” is used powerfully as a double meaning in this song. First, it’s how Bailey wakes up alone in her apartment, still in those depressive, intruding thoughts of how she feels undesired by everyone in her life. “Live alone / Split the rent with ghosts / Wake up alone / Wake up alone” she sings, lamenting on the tense, isolated nature of her life, even admitting that she’s scared to drive to her family although they want to come home.
A little over a minute into the song, drums and synth kick in in the background, giving more depth to the background track to Bailey’s scream for help, reassurance and motivation to dig herself out of that hole, leading to the second and more powerful use of “wake up.”
Graphic by Rosi Martens (Crave Music Magazine)
“Wake up, you did this to yourself / Wake up, there’s still time / Wake up, you know yourself too well / Don’t let life pass you by”
Bailey sings, affirming to herself and listeners that they can “wake up” and see that they have a purpose in life and something to live for.
This song anthemically and passionately serves to save people or lay the groundwork for change in one’s life. Bailey’s vocals feel like a whispering breeze passing by, something like a siren song that wakes one up from the rut they have found themselves in. The emotional highs and lows of “Wake Up” are strikingly apparent, both in her luscious vocals and the ascending instrumental that builds throughout the nearly 3-minute track.
“I’ve come to realize no one is going to change the voice in your head except for yourself. No amount of encouragement from others will change your brain chemistry,” Bailey shared about the song. “I tend to let myself sit in bouts of depression for much longer than I should, and ‘Wake Up’ is essentially an affirmation that I can and will get myself out of that hole.”
Bailey continues to grow as an artist with each release, and there’s no sign of stopping anytime soon. A young songwriter, her ability to tell vivid anecdotes and send intense messages through song is telling of her talent and craft. “Wake Up” is just the next piece in the puzzle of Bailey’s long career ahead.
Get tickets to see her on tour: here.
Keep up with Delaney Bailey:
Website / Spotify / Apple Music / Instagram / TikTok / YouTube
