Last month, Chardon-based singer-songwriter Cassidy King released “Wasted," the first recording from her sessions with producer TyC.
Just this week, she followed that release up with “Safe Places,” an edgy pop tune about a jilted lover.
It’s accompanied by a very cinematic music video.
“‘Safe Places’ was inspired by a poem I wrote about dating a girl who wasn’t fully ready to commit because she had a boyfriend,” says King in a press release. “She was with us both at the same time, and we had no idea. I was overwhelmed by the feeling of him taking credit for every smile that ran across her face. He was the human she could display, and I was the being she was hiding. He was the shell, the face, and body, but I was underneath the surface making her feel. To everyone in her world I was just a friend because our love always had to be hidden.”
In the music video, King gets tied to a giant tree while a man and woman embrace each other without her. It symbolizes the song's theme about "forbidden love."
“The infatuation I craved by chasing a straight girl ended up turning into a love that tore me apart because I could never fully have her,” says King. “I felt myself breaking more and more everyday because I kept hoping she would wake up one day and choose me, but to this day, she’s still with him.”
King's career launched a couple years ago after a friend tweeted a video of her singing in a dorm room stairwell. It went viral, and after launching her personal Twitter and YouTube channels, King attracted a following with a “10 Toes Challenge” video, which detailed the day her dad left.
King has also come to terms with her sexuality as a queer woman, something she chronicles in her songs.
“I’m always trying to be a better version of myself," says King. "I’m just Cassidy King. What you see is what you get. I try to show listeners vulnerability. They’re not alone. What they’re feeling is valid. I hope my music can be a voice for people when they need it. I want to help.”
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