Kelleigh Bannen Looks on the Bright Side With ‘The Optimist’
Feed your soul with this transformative ballad.
Kelleigh Bannen takes a clear-eyed view of a brighter future in her new track “The Optimist,” delivering a powerful message for difficult times.
Co-written by Bannen with Will Bowen and Claire Douglas, the delicate track features Bannen’s soulful voice, piano and little else, as the rising talent searches for something positive in the sea of negativity. All about the beautiful (but humble) moments that make life worth living, and the love that holds it all together, she sings of how every broken heart is the beginning of the next great love story — and how even the biggest challenges can transform into opportunity. Stuck at home in pandemic quarantine like almost everyone else, Bannen recorded the track in her kitchen and then sent it back to Bowen for the finishing production touches.
“The pace of all of our lives has slowed down so much, and I need a little extra hope right now … doesn’t everybody?” she says of the soul-stirring ballad. “This song is about seeing the world with a fresh, and hopeful perspective. It was recorded as a simple piano vocal, and was only ever supposed to be a demo. When I heard the song back, it just struck me differently in this season we’re all weathering, so I wanted to share it.”
“The Optimist” arrives hot on the heels of Bannen’s critically-acclaimed album, Favorite Colors, and the success of her music-industry insider podcast This Nashville Life.
