Behind the Music with Kate Vogel
Kate Vogel has officially unveiled her highly anticipated new single, titled "broke up on my birthday," marking a significant moment in her musical journey. Purple Haze had the opportunity to chat with Vogel about the single and her experience navigating the mental health challenges of breakups.
Your song ‘Broke Up On My Birthday’ has a fun poppy underlay. How did you go about making the track so perfectly bittersweet?
Well I really did breakup on my birthday, but my friends threw me another party. The song is about me and my friends’ ability to turn anything bad into something good and fun. You can do anything over that you don’t like, no one can tell you that you can’t have another birthday party! Also, I’ve heard apparently a lot of people break up on their birthdays just because birthdays, holidays and special occasions can bring out people’s differences. So I guess I’m not alone in this situation. Even though I had a breakup, my friends came together to lift me up when I was down.
What was the writing process like for this single?
After the breakup, I decided to do something productive and capture these feelings. My friends flew out to Joshua Tree and we had a songwriting camp. The Airbnb host asked in the invite if it was for a special occasion so I said my birthday, because I didn’t want to say we were making music in case they were scared of noise complaints. We showed up to the Airbnb covered in birthday decoration everywhere, streamers, balloons, banners, a crown, it was the sweetest thing.
So then my friends and I celebrated my birthday again, a birthday redo. It was really special - my best friends Mahtub and Kelsey drove down from LA with their dog and celebrated too. We really were in the kitchen making coffee, cooking bacon, watching shooting stars in the hot tub, the song is true. Then one of my best friends, Rebecca, let me film a music video on her birthday in March so we had a whole other birthday party with even more cake. It’s basically been 6 months of birthday cakes and partying.
Did you collaborate on lyrics or is it all from you and your personal experience?
This is the first song I’m releasing that I’ve cowritten. Every lyric is true except we didn’t go skinny dipping, but we did have a hot tub and watch shooting stars. Everybody on the trip knew what had happened, everybody was there for me, to pick me back up, and I just have the greatest friends. Kristin, Wilson, Grace, Carly, Mahtub, Kelsey, Topanga the dog.
“Mr. life of the party drained the life out of me” is such a punch. What does that line mean to you?
The line is about dating a guy that everyone seems to love and have nothing but good things to say about, but having the opposite experience with that person. He knows what happened. I think it’s funny as fuck, I should make merch.
And finally, heartbreak can be very difficult to deal with. What is your advice on how to bounce back?
I agree. I struggled with this for a long time. I had a big heart break that took years and years to get over because he was such a good person and we just weren’t the right match.
My advice is just to know that what you want is not crazy, it might be rare, but don’t settle because any time you settle for somebody who’s not a good fit for you; it’s 100x worse than being alone. You can’t make somebody be the person you’re looking for, you just have to either accept them as they are or wait for the person you want. That person may be rare, but they exist because you exist.
You’re not crazy for asking to be treated with respect, loyalty, and kindness. Trust that whatever’s meant for you will never escape you, and try to stay soft and not let the world harden you. It’s very challenging but I try to remain open to love. Because love is all around us. And just think, why would you be the one person in the history of time to never love again? It’s gonna happen, just stay soft.
If you ask me, Kate is the best friend we all need. The mental health advocate has used her music to show that no one is alone in their struggles and that we all share the same heart. “broke up on my birthday” is the perfect bounce back track for heartbreaks at all ages. As she says, “the beauty will outweigh the pain.”
Give her new track a listen here and give her a follow to keep up with her work!
