Serenading us from Paris, Ontario, is singer-songwriter and adult contemporary-pop recording artist Steven Ryan, with his emotionally charged single "With You."
Known for his captivating vocal performances and honest lyrical style, Steven Ryan continues to win over the hearts of listeners far beyond Canada, reaching 6.7 million streams to date. Having shared the stage with acts like The Trews, Marianas Trench, and more, Ryan is making a name for himself through powerful songs that demand the listener's heart and mind.
The same can be said about his latest album, Life, Love & Everything After, which recently saw the extended version with song inclusions like "Why Do I Do This," "I Could See It In Your Eyes," "Save Myself," "The End," and the recent radio-heavy single, "With You."
In the new release, Steven Ryan wears his heart on his sleeve in the most admirable way possible. "With You" gently opens with his tender vocals, soothing acoustic guitar strumming, and subtle background production to ramp up the emotion. Listening to his lyrics, we understand why fans naturally gravitate to his music.
While expressing his trials and tribulations and the hardships life throws our way, Steven Ryan reaches the hook and reminds his special someone that "With You," the hard things in life become bearable. The cinematic hook, especially at the outro, leaves us with chills as Steven Ryan closes the song with the utmost emotion and heart, reminding us that when life gets the best of us, we can find solace in our loved ones.
Give yourself the sonic warm embrace you deserve with Steven Ryan's latest single, "With You," now available on all digital streaming platforms.
Welcome to Buzz, Steven! We truly admire the vulnerability and passion in your single, "With You." What inspired you to create such an emotionally charged song like this?
Thanks for having me! “With You” was inspired by a collective of experiences. The main one was friends of mine who had gotten married and had a hard time finding a song that didn’t have specific lyrics that didn’t pertain to their love. Between that and friends I’ve had who struggled to find a song that didn’t have gendered language, I wanted to write an inclusive love song for anyone and everyone. I feel like everyone deserves love and a love song, which ultimately inspired the song.
What was your favorite part about creating "With You?” Was it cathartic to be so open and vulnerable during your songwriting process?
Many of my writings have a catharsis in being open and finally putting out what you’ve kept inside the world. This song had the bonus of hopefully creating that feeling for other people who don’t write songs but finally see themselves or their truth in a love song.
"With You" has attracted a significant number of listeners so far. Why do you think people are so drawn to this particular song?
What has attracted so many listeners so far is that most people see themselves or their partner or the love they have in the song. Sometimes, as writers, we get caught up in being as cryptic as possible or trying to be clever. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a time and place for it. But I like to make the majority of my music accessible to a wide variety of people, whether that has to do with who they are, what they’ve been through, or even maybe whether or not English is their first language. Songs like this and, to a large degree, love songs in general, in my opinion, don’t need to be vague and convoluted. What are we hiding behind? Just say you’re in love.
Did you work alongside any musicians or producers when creating "With You?” What were those collaborations like?
”With You” and the whole album were self-produced and recorded. Due to the world not being as open when I recorded my 2021 album “Light Of Day,” I produced and played all the parts on that album. With the world being open and able to collaborate this last time, it was exciting to be back to working with people on the music. I worked with and continue working with some amazing musicians on this album, and look forward to working even more profoundly with these guys I’ve formed a bond with through the making of this song and this album.
What made you want to release an extended version of your Life, Love & Everything After album? What can you say about the newly added songs and how they add to the overall experience and concept?
One of the main reasons I wanted to release the extended version is that I feel like songs are meant to be heard, and even if a song only reaches or helps one person, that makes it worth releasing. Don’t get me wrong, I will always have many songs on the cutting room floor. But I’ve gotten much less precious in recent years and just can’t stand the thought of songs sitting on my hard drive that could have been there for someone in their time of need.
On top of all of that, the concepts explored in the album couldn’t be fully explored in a million songs, let alone 15. So, the extended album is precisely that: a continuation of the concepts and stories on the album. All of the songs fit into one of the three categories of the album title. The additional tracks are two Love songs, “With You” and “I Could See It In Your Eyes,” two Life songs, “Why Do I Do This” and “Save Myself,” and the final song is a loss song or as shown in the title and Everything After song which is called “The End.”
If any listeners have the time, I encourage them to listen to the album in the released order front to back at least once to get the full picture and experience some of the easter eggs in the album that you can only catch by listening in its entirety.