Picture this: it's 5 am, and falling back asleep is not in the cards for me. So I get up with my phone in hand, begrudgingly beginning my day, but my body is still in sleep mode. I aimlessly stumble into my kitchen while slowly gaining feeling in my feet. When I'm finally in my kitchen, I spot the current love of my life, my early 2000s Mr. Coffee coffee maker. The catch, though, is that it takes five minutes for the machine to make a pot. I need that burst of energy now before I melt into the floor and stay there. I quickly open up Spotify on my cell to play "Free" by Hilary Roberts - I can already feel my sleepy spell wearing off as my coffee slowly streams into its pot.
"Free" is an energizing Dance-Pop single that preaches shaking off artificial people and connections to instead prioritize your well-being. The song opens to the reverbs of "I'm breaking free" repeating until the beat drops, and Roberts begins the first verse. Within this first verse, Roberts relays how "posing for selfies" and other things of this nature force people to uphold superficial standards, and she "can't take it anymore". At this point, the song erupts into the chorus, where Roberts vows to break free of these social constraints to get reconnected with herself and encourages listeners to follow suit. In the next verse, she explains how this freedom has allowed her to adopt a new identity that's made her feel at home within herself - a luxury everyone should be able to experience. These bold lyrics, the catchy rhythm, and the bouncy melody make this a Dance-Pop single all about self-empowerment and a must add to your morning playlist. The music video is worth a watch, too; it features a comic book-style fight set in a neo-futuristic world.
Hilary Roberts is a Texas-based singer and songwriter with high intentions of providing hope and empowerment to listeners. The artist does this primarily through her Dance-Pop singles and the Red Songbird Foundation, which she founded. Roberts has had multiple feel-good singles – "Fight to the Other Side", "Good Man", and "Back to Life" – that have become hits over the last four years. "Free" also features the legendary duo, Marc JB and Lee Dagger, better known as Bimbo Jones. Bimbo Jones is responsible for the remixing of the single. If you find yourself needing to jumpstart your morning while waiting for a cup of coffee, send some virtual love Roberts way by streaming her music so she can wake you up.
Written By Giavanna Gradaille
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