Tayler Buono has come a long way since the release of her song “Technically Single” in 2016. The wildly popular track landed her a very shortly lived record deal at RCA Records and has over 27 million streams to date.
But a lot has changed for the singer in the last four years — Buono is making music as an independent artist and finally sharing what she’s been creating since the breakout hit.
“I write honest/emo pop music that will make u wanna cry & dance at the same time,” her Instagram bio says, and that description couldn’t be more fitting for her new track “Screen.”
Officially out today, “Screen” is incisive commentary on social media and mental health, with the tagline in the song, “I’m sick of living through a screen.”
“I was inspired to write it after spending hours in bed one day scrolling through Instagram, falling into the comparison trap that everyone else’s life was better than mine based on this highlight reel we all have,” Buono tells Celeb Secrets.
Celeb Secrets sits down (virtually) with Buono to talk about the message behind the song, her creative process, as well as quarantining with her father who was diagnosed with COVID-19.
Read the full Q&A with Tayler below and let us know what you think of the song by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sending us a tweet at @celebsecrets. You can connect with Tayler by following her on Instagram at @taylerbuono.
Celeb Secrets: Your new single “Screen” is finally here. After listening to the song, the lyrics are so relatable right now. Can you talk to us about the song’s meaning?
Tayler Buono: “I wrote ‘Screen’ about the effect social media can have on mental health.
I was inspired to write it after spending hours in bed one day scrolling through instagram, falling into the comparison trap that everyone else’s life was better than mine based on this highlight reel we all have. During quarantine the song has taken on a whole new meaning to me as the whole world has truly been living through a screen.”
CS: What’s the message you want listeners to take away from “Screen?”
TB: “The message of ‘Screen’ is try not to fall into the comparison game believing that somebody’s life is better based on their social media. Be kind to yourself and your mind and embrace wherever you’re at in your journey. Nobody has it all together. Be kind to others because you never know what someone is really going through. We all will have good days, bad days, ups and downs for the rest of our lives. It’s important to protect and feed our minds with truth, not be afraid to be real and vulnerable, talk about our mental health, and support each other. Social media can either connect us or isolate us. The choice is ours.”
CS: With everything going on in the world right now, it’s easy to get down and find yourself constantly scrolling. We know that you’ve been quarantined with your father who was diagnosed with COVID-19.. can you talk to us about how that’s been for you?
TB: “My dad got sick with COVID towards the beginning of the pandemic in March. He was in and out of the hospital a few nights with COVID and had phenomena in both lungs. It was really scary. Scrolling on social media and reading the news every night definitely didn’t help so I tried to stay off the internet during that time. He quarantined from us for about a month and stayed upstairs. It’s been a strange time but thank God he recovered and is COVID-free now!”
CS: What have you been doing to keep your mind sane during this time?
TB: “I’ve been FaceTiming with friends, spending time in the sun, doing yoga, reading ‘101 Essays That Will Change the Way You Think’ by Brianna West. Working on the video for ‘Screen’ was really great because it gave me something to focus on and was a great creative escape.”
CS: We know you now have full creative control of your music as you’re completely independent. Can you take us through your typical writing and recording process — with specifics to “Screen” — for our readers?
TB: “I had the idea to write a song about social media one day after spending hours laying in bed scrolling. I was feeling really down on myself and lonely but couldn’t stop scrolling as comparison, discontentment, and negative thoughts continued to grow in my head. It was something I was embarrassed to talk about but I realized I couldn’t be the only one feeling this way and I should try to write an honest song about it. I talked about it in my writing session with Olivia Waithe and Louis Schoorl, who are both extremely talented, and they were immediately down to write about it with me. I remember I had been listening to a lot of Fergie and Janelle Monae that week so they definitely inspired the beat that Louis made. In just a few hours we finished the song and had the best day working with them! I knew I wanted to put the song out so I brought on producer, Save David, to finish up the production, mix it, and get it ready for release.”
CS: What are some pros and cons to making music independently?
TB: “Pros – Full creative control. You can do whatever you want. If a song is successful independently you have a lot more power over your business and can have more financial gain.
Cons – You have to take on the financial risk as you don’t have the financial resources from a major label. You lack the marketing and radio push from a major label.”
CS: Do you have any plans to release more music this year?
TB: “Yes! I have a lot more songs coming that I’m really excited about!”
CS: Since we are Celeb Secrets, do you have any secrets about yourself that you’re able to share with our readers?
TB: “Not my proudest moment but yes I did actually make a finsta (fake insta) so I could check up on my ex once… But I guess it’s not really a secret anymore since it is the 1st lyric in ‘Screen.’“
