Eric Hirshberg Finds Hope in Gratitude on Uplifting New Single "What's Not Wrong"

In an era where outrage often dominates headlines and algorithms reward negativity, Eric Hirshberg offers a refreshing alternative. His latest single, "What's Not Wrong," doesn't ignore life's challenges. Instead, it gently shifts the conversation toward everything that's still worth appreciating. The result is an uplifting pop-rock anthem that feels both timely and surprisingly necessary.

Driven by an infectious bassline, soaring melodies, and warm Americana-inspired production, Hirshberg delivers a song that feels equally suited for road trips, festival singalongs, and quiet moments of reflection. His songwriting avoids clichés by grounding its message in everyday experiences, celebrating simple pleasures like sharing music with friends, discovering a great cup of coffee, breathing fresh air, or waking up healthy and surrounded by loved ones. Rather than presenting gratitude as blind optimism, he frames it as an intentional choice.

Lyrically, "What's Not Wrong" stands out because of its central question. Instead of constantly asking what's broken, Hirshberg encourages listeners to notice what already works. That subtle shift gives the song its emotional weight, transforming an accessible pop-rock track into something with lasting resonance.

The single also serves as a compelling preview of Hirshberg's forthcoming album, More Is Not The Answer, which explores themes of attention, human connection, technology, gratitude, and purpose in an increasingly distracted world. Those larger ideas are distilled beautifully into this one song, making "What's Not Wrong" feel both deeply personal and universally relatable.

With millions of streams already behind him and a career that has uniquely balanced creative leadership and artistic expression, Eric Hirshberg continues to prove that meaningful songwriting doesn't have to sacrifice accessibility. "What's Not Wrong" is a reminder that sometimes the most powerful perspective isn't found by looking for problems, but by recognizing everything that's already going right.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rU0dZsVsnWE&v3=true

Your new single asks listeners to focus on "what's not wrong" instead of what's broken. Was there a specific moment in your life that completely shifted your perspective and inspired that message?

I have developed a pretty consistent meditation practice. The idea for this song came directly from that. In particular, there is a Stoic meditation called negative visualization. You are supposed to sit and think about all of the things that you're glad aren't happening. It sounds a little dark because you start thinking about some pretty unpleasant things--but since those things aren't happening, the impact is hugely positive. You could sit there for three days and never run out of things that you're glad aren't happening. Those things are hiding in plain sight. We rarely take the time to appreciate them. Focusing even a little attention on them has a huge impact. The line, "What's Not Wrong," was inspired by this idea, and I built the song from there. 

Also, we live in a time where we are constantly bombarded with negative imagery. Whenever I feel a bit worn down by it, I ask myself and others, "What's NOT wrong?" And it immediately shifts the conversation you're having, whether that's with someone else or in your own head. It's helpful to me, and I hope the song has that impact on others. 

You've led major companies like Activision and Deutsch before fully embracing your music career. How has your experience in high-pressure leadership shaped the way you write songs about purpose, gratitude, and human connection? 

I would invert your question. I think my focus on purpose and human connections informed the way I led companies, not the other way around. At Deutsch, our internal tagline for our approach to making great advertising was "Human spoken here." We always believed great brands were built on human insights and shared values. And at Activision, one of our most important core values was "It's the people." In creative industries, human insights, human creativity, and human relationships are the most important things to cultivate. So it's a mindset I've always had, and I try to bring it to my songs as well. Every song is built on a human story, either one I've lived, or one I've observed. And when it works, you can take a personal experience and write about it in a way that becomes universal. I don't always succeed, but that's what I try to do. 

More Is Not The Answer explores attention in an increasingly distracted world. What do you think people are paying too much attention to today, and what deserves more of our focus instead? Do you know anyone who isn't trying to spend less time on their phone, or on social media, or reading the news? Do you know anyone who thinks they should be doing more of those things? I don't. We are in a daily war to control where our own attention goes. Technology and algorithms are pulling us away from each other and, of course, from ourselves. So, I will just speak for myself: I am trying to be more present both with myself and with the people in my life, and less distracted by the constant provocations from the world. We need to come back from "The Grand Elsewhere" and just be here. 

"What's Not Wrong" feels intentionally optimistic without ignoring life's challenges. Do you think optimism has become a rebellious act in today's culture, and was that something you consciously wanted to capture in this song? I didn't consciously think of it as a rebellion, but I like the way you are framing it. Optimism has certainly become countercultural. But the good news is, I think that's true of the culture if we're talking about the news, media, etc. But on an individual level, most of the people I interact with are actually quite optimistic and positive. So, if it's a rebellion, I think it's one that already has many participants. 

Your songs often encourage listeners to slow down and appreciate life's quieter moments. Looking back on your own journey, what's something you once overlooked that has become one of the most meaningful parts of your life today? Again, I like your framing. I think at various times, I have overlooked a lot of life's quieter moments, just because I was at a different stage of life and was focused on other things. And I think that's ok. A lot depends on what life stage you're in and what is going to help you thrive in that phase. Whenever I talk to younger people about careers and life, I always get a question about work/life balance. I think you should strive for work/life balance by the end of your life. When you're lying on your deathbed, hopefully you're able to look back and say, "overall, pretty balanced!" But I have never had a day, a week, a month, a year, or even a decade that wasn't wildly out of balance in one direction or another. Because achieving anything great or difficult requires significant effort, focus, and sacrifice.  Sometimes it's work. Sometimes it's family. Sometimes it's health. Sometimes it's pursuits of passion like what I'm trying to do with my music. None of those have ever felt balanced to me in the moment. But I have loved every one of them. The album is a reflection of where I am now, and it took me a long time to arrive here.