I had a chat with pop singer-songwriter Caroline Romano ahead of the release of her new single “IDK These Days,” set for release on Friday, January 31, 2025, and her upcoming EP, How The Good Girls Die, which releases on February 21st.
Your new single “IDK These Days” is filled with such raw emotion and heartfelt lyrics. Were there any experiences or inspirations that helped you achieve that?
Caroline: Thank you! I wrote “IDK These Days” last winter. I was in a season of my life where I was struggling emotionally and mentally, but I couldn’t find a specific reason as to why. I remember calling my mom and her asking me how I was doing and the only answer I could come back with was, “IDK these days.” I think it’s become a habit of mine to often mask how I’m really feeling when dealing with those kinds of emotions. I often want to put on the front that I’m doing well even when it feels like the walls are falling down around me. Writing “IDK These Days” was definitely an admittance to myself that it’s okay to not have it all together, and to feel inexplicably lost or sad or angry sometimes. But it’s also a reminder for me, even a year later, that those feelings won’t last forever. It doesn’t have to be scary, and it doesn’t mean that’s who you are. I’m very grateful for this song, and the people who helped me work through everything it’s about.
How did you decide on the single artwork for “IDK These Days”
Caroline: The artwork for “IDK These Days” is a photo I took on my phone on tour last year. I remember feeling a bit overwhelmed and in my head about things. We passed by this stretch of mountains on the drive down to California, and it really was just this “it’s all going to be okay” feeling that came over me. I thought it was fitting for this song, and I also just thought it looked cool.
Can you describe “IDK These Days” in three words?
Caroline: Introspective, direct, truthful.
How long was the process in creating “IDK These Days” from start to finish?
Caroline: “IDK These Days” was written in an afternoon with my friends Cali Rodi and John the Dropout. We’d had a session scheduled in the middle of a big snowstorm in Nashville, and I had a poem written about the conversation with my mom from a few nights before. I asked if they were down to write a song based on that -it felt fitting with the weather- and we finished it in a few hours. There was never really a demo version of this song, as the guitar and vocal we recorded that day are the exact same on the final. I felt like there’d be no replicating the emotion that came with the first time singing that song, so we left it pretty much as is.
How did you come up with the title for your new EP How The Good Girls Die?
Caroline: How The Good Girls Die was actually the last song written for the EP. I had the concept for this sort of cautionary tale about growing up and realizing you’re not the same person everyone around you once knew you to be. After writing that song, I looked back and realized there was this connecting storyline through several other songs I’d written earlier in the year. It felt like a linear story of how this girl ended up where she does in the title track.
What was the songwriting process like for How The Good Girls Die?
Caroline: The songwriting process for this EP was very different for each song on the project, which I really enjoyed. The first half of the EP was written at the end of 2023 into early 2024 in both LA and Nashville, just as songs I really wanted to write but didn’t know where they’d end up. The last three songs on the EP were written with my good friend and collaborator John the Dropout here in Nashville. We made a plan at the beginning of last year to get together on Mondays and write whatever we wanted, with no one goal in mind. “IDK These Days,” “They Say,” and “How the Good Girls Die” were the results of that.
When did you know when the EP was done?
Caroline: I knew the EP was done once I wrote the title track. I realized in that moment that for one, there was an EP, and two, that it was completed with that song. It’s never how I’ve gone about starting or completing a project before, but I’m very glad it worked out the way it did.
How would you describe your new EP How The Good Girls Die?
Caroline: I’d describe this EP as both messy yet intentional. To me, it’s like a shattered disco ball, lovely yet disastrous, all at the same time. It’s six songs of opposing emotions and contradicting feelings. I think it’s all of the emotions I’ve had as a twenty-something girl walking home after a night out. It’s a little heartbroken and a little ready to take on the world.
Is there a song on the EP that you’re most excited for fans to hear?
Caroline: I’m excited for fans to hear “They Say” as it’s very different, both sonically and lyrically than any song I’ve released before. I think it’s the most surprising one on the project, so I’m really eager to see how listeners react to it.
If you could set fans up with the perfect environment to listen to How The Good Girls Die, what would it be?
Caroline: I think the perfect listening experience for How The Good Girls Die is on a walk or a drive through your favorite part of town as the sun is starting to set. Or really anywhere you feel the most like yourself. I always like moving and seeing lights and people around me when I’m listening to new music, and I think this project feels like that in many ways. It’s busy and shiny, yet reflective and dark all at the same time.
Check out more from Caroline Romano: