Despite 2022 seeing Stela Cole hit the 1m monthly listener mark, quadruple her social media following, and have her strongest streaming year to date. Stela (real name Hollyn Shadinger) felt mentally and emotionally apart from herself. Creatively unfulfilled, overwhelmed, and uninspired by social media. Stela Cole used 2023 to address her mental health, exit her label deal, black out her profiles, delete the apps, and trade doom scrolling for her guitar, the studio, and her favorite records.
Working closely with a core group of collaborators, Stela has meticulously crafted a sonic world inspired by Fleetwood Mac, The Mamas and Papas, Tame Impala, The Eagles, Arctic Monkeys and more. The result is more than a musical evolution; it’s a rebirth. Partnering with award-winning Director Eliot Lee, Stela has created a cinematic world through a series of music videos and vignettes featuring co-star Noah Gonzalez. Each piece of content is thoughtfully connected in an endless loop. It is these endless loops, repetitive cycles, or habits that inspired the themes of the upcoming body of work.
Her debut single “Die Hard”, threw Stela’s vocals into the spotlight with a performance that is equally flawless and harrowing. The accompanying music video delicately mirrors this duality with an insidious narrative and goosebumps-inducing finale.
The second release “Midnight Killer” is an autobiographical song filled with healing. The artist confides, “It’s about the revival of empowerment and re-discovery after losing myself. It’s about becoming stronger through the pain, and learning how to protect my heart and energy moving forward. It’s the Phoenix rising from the ashes. No more sacrificing my character. No more losing myself.”
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Source/Image provided by Nora May
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