Taylor Bennett knows the weight of 2020 just like you. Through the pandemic and the rest of society’s hurdles, he is remained focus on his personal growth both as a person and professionally.
Both of those efforts are displayed in his new song and video “Don’t Wait Up.” The 24-year-old showcases his evolution on the new single bridging the elements of a new experience along with the reality of anxiety that one may feel while encountering them.
The video for the new release pairs Bennett with directing duo LAMAR+NIK, creating a unique experience of producing a visual with all three of the creators being in different locations: Chicago, Seattle, and Oklahoma.
Along with the release, Taylor Bennet spoke with The Source about the creation of this single and video, challenges that occurred along the way, and more.
You can see the premiere of “Don’t Wait Up” below.
What sparked the idea for the content of the “Don’t Wait Up” single?
Taylor Bennett: Music has a purpose to evoke emotion and also communication. In the year 2020, not just me, but a lot of people were going through a period of detachment. Within that, you can also find more strength in your independence and this song is really an example of that. The ideology of understanding that you don’t need someone else to make you better, that’s on you. You can’t rely on someone else to make you happy that’s also on you.
The video is extremely creative, essentially being a arts and crafts product, how was your response to the idea from LAMAR+Nik?
We shot this video in July during the pandemic and had to find a creative way to make a video because of the directors being in Seattle and Oklahoma and restrictions on production at the time. It was an amazing opportunity for us to look at new ways to illustrate my vision of the song in ways that I don’t think are common or you see all the time.
Lamar+Nik went crazy and really took my ideas and mixed them with theirs to create a whole world that brought my hometown to life. You’re definitely going to be seeing a lot more of their work in the future.
How did you first get engaged with that duo and what let you know to trust them with directing?
Those guys were actually recommended through my talent agent Riley Folsom, and when I saw their work I knew we had to do something with them.
This release comes behind “Be Yourself Pt. 2,” which hinges on the idea of being yourself. What has continuing to remain to yourself taught you along the way?
I think a lot of us are pushed from a very young age to be who everyone else wants us to be. Whether it’s our parents, our friends, or social media or media in general. What I’ve realized is that by being myself through my lifestyle, my art, my business, and family, that’s where happiness is. It’s a freeing experience to be truly yourself and not have to live within other people’s expectations. My hope is that by making this stand in some ways I’m supporting others who are trying to find their own voices and be themselves.
This video was shot remotely, during quarantine, how complicated was that for you and just work, in general, has been during this year?
It’s been difficult for us, as it has been for everyone else this year. But as we discussed earlier, it’s presented us with new challenges and opportunities to make something more creative which is what we did with this video.
I’m dealing with the challenges of 2020 just like everyone else. But at the beginning of the pandemic, I sat down with my family and discussed how we were going to take this thing seriously and find new ways to to make sure our business would continue to be successful but to also use this time to restructure and make our business more efficient and profitable. When we come out of this pandemic in 2021 or 2022 we’ll be sharper and stronger than ever.
These two releases would lead fans to believe that more is on the way, are there any details about future efforts that we can know?
We definitely have more songs and videos ready to go, right now we’re focusing on releasing them one by one. My brother and I have been having conversations about ways that we can collaborate on future projects, so we’ll see what comes from that. It’s a family business; the independent Bennett’s!
Ending this year what are you excited about?
Spending Christmas with my family.
