With a sound some describe as a blend of pop, RnB and house and a true interest in enabling the deaf to enjoy popular music, Symon is breaking all the boundaries. She might have not skyrocketed to stardom quite yet but she is by far one of the most unique and interesting up-and-coming singers.
She has recently released the music video to her latest hit ‘Lonely Girl’ and when coming up with ideas she decided to combine her love for music with her other great passion, sign language. “I always knew someday I would incorporate sign in my art but never knew how,” she confessed. “I had this feeling in my gut that this would be the perfect song to sign.”
Symon is an artist who is hyper-aware of the world around her and is always looking to connect with all elements of her surrounding. “Connecting with people through performing was what I knew I was destined to do,” she said. Sign language for her is going one step further: “it’s about connecting with people on a different level, a deeper (soul) level.”
But why is signing such a big part of her life? Learning sign language became a safe haven for her while she was at school. Taking lessons gave her the chance to hide away from bullies, even if just for a few hours. “At that point in high school there were some mean girls who I didn’t even want to associate with. I would spend all my extra time at school sitting with my teacher learning as much sign as I could.”
Her new song is a very personal track. “’Lonely Girl’ was born from an experience where a group of people hurt and betrayed me beyond anything I could have imagined,” she commented. “When work started on the song’s recording, I went into the booth and I started crying because it was so painful to relive it.” Producers kept the original cut of the song in which Symon’s voice is raw with emotion.
Symon had been waiting for the perfect moment to combine her music with sign language and felt that, because of what ‘Lonely Girl’ was about, incorporating sign to the lyric video seemed only natural: “One of the loneliest times of my life was when I was in high school being outcast by other girls and my outlet was sign. Signing ‘Lonely Girl’ was just full circle for me and felt so appropriate.”
Her songs are incredibly fresh and honest and explore the struggles that young people face on the way to becoming who they are and how they deal with the pressure and expectation: “I feel like it’s such an interesting time because your 20s are a struggle; you’re trying to get to that point of who you want to be in this world.”
When writing, Symon removes her mask and tries to be as real as possible. “For so long I was trying to be something that I wasn’t,” she continued. “This is because people were telling me how to be, and it’s just been full circle in the last year and a half.”
Symon has a truly unique approach to music and is not looking to be confined to just one style or genre: “The people that I looked up to growing up were breaking boundaries; they weren’t just sticking to the norm. I feel like you constantly have to create and reinvent yourself. I think it’s so fun and you have to take risks.”
Despite releasing popular summer hits since 2016, Symon is currently at work on her debut album. Because of her life experiences, Symon feels certain responsibility towards the underdogs and has a very important message for those affected by bullies: “You’re not alone. Just know how amazing you are and know what your worth is.”
You can watch the ‘Lonely Girl’ video on Youtube here.
> Naomi Round
EXCLUSIVE: SYMON – Signing & Singing
