ZOE Finds Strength in Vulnerability on New Indie-Pop Single “Honest”

Independent singer-songwriter ZOE continues to shape her emotionally candid approach to pop with “Honest,” a release that examines what happens when love creates space for complete transparency.

Following February’s “Closure,” “Honest” feels like another piece of a larger conversation ZOE is building around relationships, growth, and self-understanding. Rather than treating vulnerability as something fragile, the indie-pop artist approaches it as one of intimacy’s greatest strengths.

“Honest” centers on the rare relationship where performance becomes unnecessary. It is about finding someone who can see beyond the curated versions of ourselves and still offer a sense of security. That distinction gives the song its emotional weight. ZOE isn't interested in presenting love as a transformation for someone else. Instead, she explores how the right connection can encourage a person to become more truthful about who they already are.

“I hope people hear ‘Honest’ and think about the person they can be completely themselves with,” ZOE shares. “For me, love is not about becoming someone else for another person. It is about finding someone who sees you clearly, keeps you honest, and still makes you feel safe enough to be exactly who you are.”

That perspective carries a maturity that fits naturally within ZOE’s developing catalog. Where contemporary pop can sometimes mistake emotional exposure for oversharing, “Honest” is grounded in something quieter and arguably more difficult: allowing yourself to be genuinely known.

The single has begun receiving independent radio, playlist, and media support across multiple markets as ZOE continues developing new material and expanding her presence across press, radio, and festival spaces.

With “Closure” and now “Honest,” ZOE is establishing a clear foundation for what comes next, one built less around spectacle and more around emotional specificity.

“Honest” explores the freedom of being completely yourself with another person. Was there a specific moment or relationship that made you realize how powerful that kind of honesty can be?

I think it came from realizing there’s a difference between someone loving the version of you that you present and someone knowing you well enough that you don’t have to present anything at all. That’s where “Honest” came from. The song starts from feeling almost exposed — bare and undone — but instead of that becoming uncomfortable, it becomes freeing. Being fully seen and still feeling safe is what makes the relationship in the song powerful.

You describe vulnerability as something powerful rather than frightening. Has writing music changed the way you approach vulnerability in your own life?

Definitely. Writing has made me realize I can acknowledge something without having to solve it first. I used to think vulnerability meant having this huge confession or explaining exactly what happened. Now I think it can be as simple as admitting, “This is how I feel right now.” Music gives me somewhere to put feelings that might contradict each other. I can be completely exhausted in “Burn Out” and then turn around and be insatiable for life in “Field of Flowers.” Both can be true.

“Honest” follows “Closure,” and both releases explore relationships from different emotional perspectives. Do you see the two songs as connected chapters in your growth?

Absolutely, but I think the biggest connection is actually the difference between them. Closure looks backward. There’s a lot of trying to understand what happened, what something meant, and how to move forward from it. Honest feels much more present. Instead of asking the past for answers, I’m exploring who I am now — in love, overwhelmed, ambitious, grounded, burned out, hopeful, and spiritual. Closure was about processing. Honest is much more about living.

As an independent artist, how do you balance creating deeply personal music with the pressure to build an audience and navigate the industry?

I’m still learning that balance. There’s always another number you can look at — streams, followers, playlists, views — and if you’re not careful, music can start feeling like a scoreboard. “Burn Out” touches that part of ambition for me. I want to grow. I want people to hear the music. I want to perform in bigger spaces. But I don’t want chasing the next thing to make me stop feeling the things that are already happening. The music has to come first because that’s the part people eventually connect with anyway.

You’re continuing to develop new material while expanding into press, radio, and festival spaces. What do you want the next chapter of ZOE to reveal that listeners haven’t seen yet?

I want it to be louder. Honest showed more sides of me than Closure, but I still think there’s an edge that listeners haven’t completely heard yet. The new material is moving further toward indie and alternative rock, with more attitude, bigger instrumentation, and a little less restraint. I don’t want every album to sound like the one before it. I want people to recognize my voice and writing, but still wonder where I’m going next.