Do you ever wonder why aren’t tons of horror films about society’s pressures and expectations of a young person being cranked out? Having other people expect you to fit a certain mold or to hold certain traits that you could never envision for yourself can be quite a terrifying thing. But while we wait for Hollywood to get with the program, Texas-based Eraste (air-este) definitely has the music world covered with her latest single “Lead Role.”
Unlike many of her fellow rising stars alt-pop space, Eraste didn’t grow up in a musical household. In fact, her formal training consisted of taking a few piano lessons when she was twelve. She wasn’t a huge fan of them, but her teacher would manage to convince her to show up by using Mountain Dew as an incentive. (Honestly, who could blame her?!)
Make no mistake – Eraste was, is, and will always be madly in love with music. She developed her artistic side on her own, and released her first EP, crashing every party, in 2021. Eraste’s witty synth-pop sound is enough to reel in your attention, but her reflective lyrics will leave you hooked! “Lead Role” is an opportunity to connect with Eraste as she describes the discouraging, and perhaps familiar feeling of needing to conform for others.
Eraste spills, “Sometimes when we are growing, people only see the version of us they want to see, and this song is about being haunted by people’s expectations for myself; and how I wish I could ‘play that part’ for them. It’s like my old self is frozen in time and even though I’ve moved on, the people I love kept asking me to be a less authentic version of myself. I found myself pretending a lot, making myself smaller, making myself less; but in the end if I pretend to be someone, I’m not I’m only hurting myself.”
Listen to “Lead Role” below!
