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Super talented alternative pop artist and producer CRYSTAL is set to soar with the release of her new anthemic pop single ‘Expectations Suck!’.
Setting the scene for an exciting new chapter, ‘Expectations Suck!’ is about moving out of home and navigating the aches that can come with this while chasing a dream. The song brilliantly builds and is enveloped in authenticity that takes it from being great to being stratospheric. CRYSTAL says in many ways it feels like reclaiming the most vulnerable parts of herself.
“There’s a sadness in the situation lyrically, but I think overall it holds so much power - a big turn it up in the car with your friends at night vibe! It’s about my experience moving out of home for the first time and moving from Wellington to Auckland early last year. I studied music for a few years and thought if I moved to Auckland, I’d be able to get out of my hospo job and do something related to music, but that never worked out for me. I started to feel worthless while trying to make things happen. I was living with all this pressure from what I thought my family, friends and society expected of me. It was really hard to push past that. After having conversations with my friends and understanding, they were also unhappy with their jobs or felt trapped in the 9-5 grind and had bigger aspirations, made me feel so heard. It validated what I was going through and made me realise we have to support and uplift each other because navigating life, especially as a young person is super hard.”
‘Expectations Suck!’ was recorded and mixed by producer Joel Jones, then mastered by Chris Chetland at KOG studios and is accompanied by a video made with Wellington-based filmmaker Ben Dickens and edited by Ella Cameron. “The video captures the notion that everything eventually gets better if you keep going and don’t give up, ” says CRYSTAL.
CRYSTAL has been making waves with a streak of killer singles from her debut EP GARLIC ICE CREAM - including ‘We Feel The Same’, ‘Perplexed’, ‘The Chase’ and ‘One Dollar Pizza’. Te-Whanganui-A-Tara/Wellington-raised and Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland-based CRYSTAL made her live music debut in 2019 while studying Commercial Music at Massey University, playing Wellington festivals, Cuba Dupa and Newtown Festival, and supporting Australian artist KIAN, before ever having released any music online. Her debut single, ‘My Flowers Are Dead’ then featured on TVNZ’s body swap comedy series ‘Life Is Easy’. Her sophomore release ‘The Chase’ landed on Spotify's 'New Music Friday AU & NZ', 'Pop n Fresh', and ‘EQUAL AU & NZ’ playlists. ‘Perplexed’ also featured on ZM’s Late Night Show.