"Number One Song" was written from a place of disappointment really. I think as artists one of the hardest parts of the job is persistence. The industry is so different now than it used to be, we’ve had to pivot in so many ways and I was feeling frustrated about a few of my recent releases.

After a therapy session, I felt I needed to write a song that came back to art and purpose. Outside of streams, and followers, and likes, and money - is there still a purpose for me in being an artist, a story teller, a singer, a poet?

It felt like I had finally crossed a bridge into letting go of the things that I can’t control… to continue showing up as the artist I want to be and trust that the universe will have my back. It sounds like such an esoteric way of thinking maybe but it’s given me a lot of peace. Shifting my focus to all the fans who are listening to the music instead of all the people that aren’t (yet! ;))

The song is really a piece of redefining what success looks like to me. Happiness, peace, friendship, support, health… that’s success. The fact that I even get to make music, sing songs, and tell stories is an opportunity in and of itself.

And now for a bit more backstory... When I was 19, years before I was on Canadian Idol I was part of a local competition back home in Lethbridge, fittingly named L.A. Idol.

I sang Josh Groban, and I sang The Temptations, but my winning song was “I’ll Be” by Edwin McCain; a song that was and is one of my all time favourites.

Part of the prize of L.A. Idol was that I got to perform “I’ll Be” at the Enmax Centre in Lethbridge, as a pre opening act for Keith Urban. I don’t think anything will compare to that moment. I still remember every detail… the smell of the smoke machine, the way the lights hit my face, and hearing thousands of people but not seeing a single face. It was a rush, and it was the first taste of the freedom of the stage.

Fast forward over 15 years later to early 2021. I was newly sober, in the middle of another lock down, and like many of us, diving into the new social media landscape of TikTok to pass the time. I started posting covers of songs and I started posting clips of how sobriety felt, both the small wins along the way and the challenges of feeling EVERYTHING.

I woke up one morning to a comment on one of my covers…

“Wow, what a voice you have! Keep going!”

That comment was from Edwin McCain.

Of course I fan girled a bit for a moment, and then decided to post a cover of I’ll Be, which he later dueted and commented on again. Since then, we’ve had a lot of really wonderful, honest conversations. After only a few, he revealed to me that he too, is sober. He has been for decades now and he’s been a really incredible sounding board for me over the last couple years.

I guess all this is to say that this is a truly full circle moment.

I feel so blessed, so excited, and so humbled to announce that my new song “Number One Song (F. Edwin McCain)” is out now.

The fact that one of my favourite artists is joining me on a song that I wrote has me all in my feelings… and I’m truly thankful that I’m able to sit with every single one of them, fully.