From CMT News
by cindy watts 6/3/2022
2021 was a significant year for Brooke Eden. Professionally, she released multiple singles – her first new music since 2016. Personally, she came out, and her girlfriend – now fiancée – Hillary Hoover starred in the songs’ correlating music videos. Eden’s new song, “Left You For Me,” sounds like it’s about a long-needed break-up. However, Eden, who wrote the song with Kyle Schlienger and Jon Stone, says that for her – the song is about her decision to come out.
“This song was truly my compass during the pandemic and as I was coming out,” Eden says. “The song is about leaving a toxic situation in order to be the best version of yourself, no matter what that toxic situation might be.”
Eden says she believes many people have to leave something behind to become the best version of themselves. Her fans call the song their break-up anthem or their divorce anthem, which she thinks is “cool.”
“People stay in relationships sometimes for too long, and they’re often shameful about that,” Eden says. “I wanted to write a song that celebrates that change and that step and that growth and turns that shame into a celebration of becoming a better version of yourself.”
For Eden, the song wasn’t about a relationship at all.
“It’s about leaving society’s expectations for my life in order to become the best version of myself,” she explains.
The song’s video is almost as personal. Eden and her best friend Ford Fairchild shot the clip in her backyard and on her family vacation in Mexico. Eden says that Fairchild, also a member of the LGBTQ community, loved the song as soon as he heard it. The video reflects the celebration of becoming who you are meant to be while acknowledging there is hurt along the way.
“Change is hard for anybody,” Eden says. “It takes so much to take that huge step. Sometimes it’s leaving someone you’ve been with for a really long time. Sometimes it takes leaving your whole living situation or everything you’ve ever known. It really does take a lot of bravery, and so many people feel shame. This is a message of self-love.”
Eden hopes people feel empowered to take control of their lives after hearing “Left You For Me” and watching the video.
“I just want people to have the confidence to make the change they need to make,” she says. “I know how much bravery, encouragement, and persistence it takes to make a big change like that. I would love for people to just take away that they’re not the only person in a situation like this. They’re not alone.”