With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, [Tessa Rae](https://www.instagram.com/tessarae/?hl=en) is getting real about a past romance in her newest single, “Drunk Eyes.” After rewriting the song twice, we finally get to hear the acoustic, guitar-based final version that tells the story of an ended relationship. A “playful” music video edited by Tessa herself accompanies the single.
Check out “Drunk Eyes” and read _Flaunt_’s conversation with Tessa below!
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**What’s the story behind the song, the story behind these lyrics?**
I met this person, kind of right before COVID happened. And it was kind of like that instant attraction, that kind of very intense feeling. And then it was a really short relationship just because I realized that he liked to drink at 6 am and just little patterns that I've seen before that I needed to stay away from. So, the song's kind of all the excitement of a new relationship, and then walking away when you're still kind of caught in those feelings just because something isn't the best thing for you. So yeah, I feel like it's really just about that relationship.
**This sounds like a pretty personal story, do you usually get pretty personal with your songs?**
I feel like authenticity is what makes a song work a lot of the time. So I think that saying “write what you know” is really true. My favorite songs are songs that come from a really real place. Especially when it's like a story like that. You just meet someone and they inspire a song. I think that's really special that some random person can do that. And now it's a moment in time forever even though I don't really want him... I would feel bad if he heard the song, but it doesn't say anything bad about him.
**Do you have a favorite lyric or line from this song?**
Yeah, there's this line, “Drunk eyes, sober up and realize something about real life was never real with you.” So, I feel like it's that moment where you're becoming sober, and it doesn't even have to be like actually sober, just like the moment you're realizing something can't last forever. It's too good to be true because it's dysfunctional.
**Did you know as soon as you wrote that lyric that that was going to be one that stood out?**
Yeah, I think I liked the play on something about real life was never real with you, because it just sounds nice. I also have a line that says, "Brunches on the west side down the 405 at 2:30.” And I really liked specific, weird things like that. So that was fun. I actually had a whole other version of the song that I wrote alone and it was called “Drunk Eyes”. We had produced the whole song and my producer was like, something's not working. So we tried rewriting it and that's this new version. So there's multiple versions. There's actually three versions of the song.
**How do they each differ?**
The first version I wrote on the guitar alone. I had a special place in my heart for that version of the song just because it was so intimate and I did it alone. And then we did a version with a real chorus because it didn't have a chorus and that was more upbeat and fun and it still felt wrong. And then the third version is acoustic and childlike and really peaceful. So it's kind of weird though having these other versions in my head like I'm attached to them. But I'm really happy with this version that's coming out.
**I want to talk to you about the music video a little bit. Can you tell me what the inspiration was behind it? And how much of a role you had in producing it?**
Since quarantine, I've just been doing all my music videos just because it's easier and it's been pretty fun. I kind of like doing them really spontaneously, I don't really plan them out that much. And for this one, I was going to Joshua Tree with my producer who's also like my best friend, and we were just going to write for a few days. And I thought, we're in Joshua Tree, I've never been here before, we might as well film. So we actually were just driving around waiting to get into our Airbnb, because we couldn't check in yet. So we just pulled over somewhere where it was, deserted, no one was there, and I was like, this would be a perfect time to film. So I just grabbed stuff from my suitcase and I just bought this hat that I really liked and I just walked around and we filmed it. We only filmed for like, 30 minutes. Then I filmed some at the Airbnb. So it was really just natural. And then I edited it together. I was still editing last night because I am really into details. So it's kind of a nightmare. I really shouldn't be editing my own stuff, because I'm so obsessive about it. But it was just fun and I like it feels a little playful, like the song is.
**I listened to several of your other songs, like “Tangled” and “Body'' and I feel like they all have a very different kind of vibe. How would you describe your sound?**
I would say eclectic alternative pop because I do think I'm learning to be okay with everything being its own flavor. I think I'm a multifaceted person, like a lot of people are, and I don't need to stick to one sound so I think it's kind of just like whatever I'm feeling, and I think I have such a broad range of influences that it kind of translates into my music because when people ask me, “Oh, who's your greatest influence?” I don't have like one person.
**On Spotify in 2020, you were played in 92 countries, had nearly half a million streams and 200,000 listeners, how does that feel?**
It feels good, but of course, you always kind of focus on what you don't have. I think it's like, when you just see a number, you don't think about people actually listening to music, but it's amazing that people are listening. It's my favorite thing when people reach out about a song. Some girl reached out to me that she cries to my music the other day, and I was like, that's really cute. And it kind of just inspires me to keep making songs. Now I can imagine this girl crying to the song I'm writing now or something. So it helps put things in perspective. But, you're always gonna just want more.
**What are your goals for 2021 whether that is numbers, or maybe something more tangible, like more music or an album or whatever that may be?**
I'm going to put out an EP, so my goal is to finish that. I want to do a music video for every song I make. So, I guess a lot of music videos because I'm gonna put out a song every month, and then eventually a project. I guess my goal is like...100 million streams \*laughs\* No, just learning who I am as an artist more because I feel like I've come a long way. I feel like I see it just getting better and better this year. And working with new people.
**Is there anything else that you want people to know about you or about the song?**
I want people to know that it's really organic and it's not some people telling me what to do. But I feel like that's obvious, I feel like it doesn't look like it's not authentic. I just want people to know it's coming directly from me.
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