Building trust during the early days of a relationship can be tough. It’s a phenomenon that Telle Smith of The Word Alive wanted to address in his single “Never Let You Down.”
“If someone has been hurt or let down a lot, it can be hard to trust again,” Smith says.
“But you also have to let go to fully experience the world and things like love and friendship.”
Like his previous efforts, Smith drew from personal experience for the song, which focuses on a former relationship.
“I think it comes off more genuine that way,” Smith says. “There was a time where I was in a relationship and I felt like the other person was sabotaging it because they were expecting something bad to happen.”
The song features EDM artist Kayzo, whom Smith met through mutual friends. After a year of back and forth, “Never Let You Down” was released in March.
“He (Kayzo) originally had a different song in mind, and then at the last possible hour he sent me this track, ‘Never Let You Down’, and thought this song would blend our genres together in a really cohesive way,” Smith says.
“It was honestly one of the easiest songs that I’ve ever been a part of creating. If you want to turn it up and sing it in your car or if you’re excited for shows to come back and want to get super sweaty and mosh, it has it all.”
Smith spoke highly of Kayzo, who wanted to blend the genres.
“We coexist in that our music is based around the emotion and energy of a song,” Smith says. “I believe what he’s trying to do is really special and will open the doors for other people who love electronic and rock music,” Smith says.
Though “Never Let You Down” took a while to create, the pandemic further delayed its release, as Smith wanted to release the song once the pandemic subsided.
“We thought this had to be a song that came out when people were able to enjoy life again,” Smith says. “We’re starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel for live shows resuming. We decided this was a good time to put this song out.”
Smith says he hopes people will chase their dreams once life returns to “normal.” His mantra is “risk nothing, gain nothing.”
“You have to put yourself out there in the world to have what you want, which has always been the backbone of everything that I believe in,” Smith says.
“This last year was really taxing, especially for people in the entertainment world, where our entire identity and livelihood felt like it was stripped away. Now that things are starting to come back, we’re seeing that if you can weather the storm, you get to see the really exciting things.”
During the pandemic, Smith has been writing new music for The Word Alive. He’s looking forward to seeing fans at shows.
“I’m just excited for shows to come back,” Smith says. “I’m also excited for people to be able to celebrate live music and the music that got them through the whole pandemic.”
