Katelyn Tarver premiered the video for her new single “Feel Bad” on Thursday (March 26), exclusively with Billboard.
In the cinematic clip, the rising singer-songwriter finds herself caught in an increasingly controlling and contentious relationship. “Can I trust myself?/ Everything I thought I knew is somewhere else/ I’m scared that if I say things/ I won’t have the same things anymore/ I don’t feel like I’m home/ Never thought I’d be someone that I’d outgrow/ I’m scared that if I say things/ I won’t have the same things anymore/ I feel bad, feel bad, feelin’ bad,” she warbles over gentle keys and pulsing guitar.
“‘Feel Bad’ is about feeling fragile and small and confused and feeling guilty for feeling those things,” Tarver tells Billboard. “I wanted the video to capture what that can be like in the context of a relationship. When you’re going through a hard time, you’re most likely taking it out on the one you’re closest to. And that can start to take a toll. But it can also create space for more growth if you keep pushing through.”
The song and accompanying visual, she adds, is about “confronting the messy, darker parts of yourself and not running away from them, but instead trying to be honest and face it head on.”
The emotive new single follows Tarver’s recent single “Heaven” as well as her win last summer on NBC’s Songland — on which she wrote the track “Young” for Old Dominion with mentor/producer Shane McAnally.
Check out the exclusive premiere of “Feel Bad” below.
