corook Talks New EP serious person (part 1), Touring and the Power of ‘if i were a fish’

As longtime fans of singer-songwriter corook, we couldn't be happier to see them get the viral recognition they deserve.

The wholesome and uplifting single "if i were a fish" (co-written by and featuring their girlfriend, Olivia Barton) has been one of our most-heard TikTok sounds as we move into summer, and it never fails to put a smile on our faces. Of course, that track is just one facet of corook's uniquely personal, vulnerable and ambitious artistry, which we see expanded across the seven stunning tracks on their new serious person (part 1) EP, out today. The timing for the EP couldn't be more perfect, with "if i were a fish" at its height and their first-ever headlining shows beginning this weekend. We had the pleasure of hopping on a phone call with corook to discuss it all. Discover the latest in the interview below.

Sweety High: Why did "serious person" feel like the right title track for this collection of songs? Do you feel like it's kind of the thesis for this collection?

corook: That is a great way to put it. For a while, we were wondering how we get from "if i were a fish" to "serious person," considering the songs on the EP and whether we bridge that gap or if we just jump right in. What felt the most compelling was that "serious person" is this huge concept to me. It's bigger than the song. It feels like a comment on how I live my life, which is through humor and avoiding pain, but still looking at it through this humorous lens. It felt important to start off the EP in that way, by showing that before anything else.

 

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SH: What was the songwriting process across this EP? Did you start off with that main theme in mind?
corook: Not really, to be honest. A lot of these songs are from different points in my career. Some of them are from when I first started cowriting, which was about a year and a half ago that this project started. Some of them I wrote a couple months ago. It was really more or less looking back at everything I've made and deciding what fits into this narrative of serious person.

(Photo credit: Libby Danforth)

 

SH: Does the EP feel like it represents where you are now, or is it more of a progression?

corook: It's kind of both. I'm constantly learning and growing and figuring things out about myself. For example, I wrote "tiny little titties" about a year and a half ago, when I hadn't even been considering being genderqueer.  Now, I'm out as non-binary, and that song feels more true than it ever has. It's both a progression and encapsulation. That's what life is—continually moving.

 

SH: Do you find that often when you look back at songs you wrote in the past, and then look at where you are right now, that they explain your psyche better than you thought they did when you first wrote them?

corook:  Yes, absolutely. I often write songs and sometimes they don't feel exactly right in that moment. But then months later, I listen to it, and I'm crying in the car, like, where the hell did that come from? I think that's what music has always been for me. It's a tool for healing and processing my emotions when I couldn't.

(Photo credit: Libby Danforth)

 

SH: Do you have a favorite track on the EP?

corook: I would say my favorite track is, "ok getting older." It feels like one of those songs that existed before I made it—like it existed in the ether and I was able to pull it down. It feels like a song that's older than I am, if that makes sense.

 

SH: You've mentioned "if i were a fish," which has been a sensation. When you and Olivia sat down to record that first video of the song, did you have any expectations at all for like what it would become?

corook: Not at all, because honestly, we didn't even plan on posting it. We just decided to because the video we took was just so sweet and cute. It really captured what we were feeling in that moment, which was this pure, healing joy of self-acceptance. Once we saw that, we were like, oh, that's so cute. Let's just post it.

Obviously, once we did, it rang true for tons and tons and tons of people. We weren't expecting that, but we're both really grateful and still trying to process all of that acceptance of it.

(Photo credit: Libby Danforth)

 

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SH: What has it been like to just see so many different types of people just resonate really that message of self-love and positively embracing yourself?

corook: It's been amazing. It showed me that not everybody on the internet is mean and that there is a very vast group of people that are experiencing what I'm experiencing. It's scary to come into yourself as an adult, especially because, personally, I grew up as a people pleaser. I was trying so hard to fit into these boxes to make people more comfortable. Now, as an adult shedding that, it's really scary and also really joyful. I think that is what the song has captured and means to a lot of other people.

 

SH: Do you have like a single favorite reaction or video of the song?

corook: I think that I duetted it. It's this little boy in the backseat of his mom's car, and she's playing the song for him, and he's sitting there, quietly listening, and the second verse plays, "If I were a rock, you would
pick me up and say 'that's a nice rock.' Skippiest on the lake. Plop, plop, plop, I'm the perfect shape." "And the second we sing, "I'm the perfect shape," he gets this grin on his face, and he goes, "Is she talking about me?" It made me sob. It's just so sweet to see a young person actually, in real-time, be able to process their life with a song that they've never heard before. It was so cool that this child was healing himself with the song. It's also really sad that he had to think about that. Growing up is really hard, and I so relate to him, that 6-year-old or 7-year-old. At that age, I could have really used this song.

@hicorook #duet with @TheBadassMomLife ♬ original sound – corook

 

SH: Can you tell us about the exciting shows you have on the horizon?

corook: I am playing my first-ever headline shows next week, and I am very nervous—mostly because my girlfriend and co-writer of "if i were a fish," Olivia Barton, is opening for me, and she is such a hard act to follow. She's so good. So I'm very nervous about that, but also really excited. I think that this song has created such a wonderful, sensitive group of people that maybe didn't know about me before, and I'm really excited to feel what a room full of those kinds of people feels like all together.

 

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SH: Can you reveal anything about the plans for serious person (part two)?

corook: (part two) is in the works and will be coming out later this year. I think that's all I'm allowed to say!

 

SH: Is there anything else you'd like to add? 

corook: I'm just really grateful and really excited for everything that's happening and to meet the community of people that this song has created.

 

For more insights from the artists we love, click HERE to read our interview with Zolita on her new single, "Grave."