Hannah Grace Colin Reveals the Powerful Meaning Behind Her Debut Single, ‘Control’

Dance Moms alum Hannah Grace Colin has made quite the name for herself as a skilled dancer, but her debut single "Control" shows us she also has serious chops as a singer, and we think it's a sign of great things to come.

The powerful new song is all about seizing control of your own life and narrative, and Hannah does a beautiful job bringing it to life. We got the chance to catch up with her ahead of the release to learn all about what the song means to her. Keep reading to discover everything we learned.

Sweety High: What was the songwriting and recording process behind "Control"?

Hannah Grace Colin: I co-wrote this song with my producer, Myles Erlick from Toronto, Canada. We started the process over Zoom because the Canadian border was closed. Myles and I met for a few writing sessions to nail down my message and lyrics. He also wrote a few cool tracks for me to listen to and I was really drawn to the background track you hear in the song. I felt it was a cool beat that everyone would want to groove and dance to. Once the border opened, Myles came to Indiana and we laid out the vocal tracks at Round Table Recording Studio.

 

SH: What does the song mean to you? Was it based on your own experiences?

HGC: My original debut song means so much to me! The inspiration for the song was from my own personal struggles dealing with negative comments on social media and people who treat you badly out of jealousy. It is about how you are "in control" of your life and learning to not let others bring you down. This song is so relatable in today's society and I hope it can help others by reminding them they are "in control" of their lives and that you have the power to choose how you let that negativity impact you. So don't let anything bring you down, be "in control" and stay true to yourself and live your best life.

(Photo credit: Jake Zaepfel)

 

SH: How do you take control of the way you react when faced with negativity? Do you have any advice for others to learn to do the same?

HGC: Trust me, this was not always easy for me. When this small-town girl from Indiana first became known, I encountered several unkind and actually mean comments on social media platforms and they really affected me. My family and friends had to remind me who I truly was and that the "haters" on social media didn't even know me. People say mean things to only make themselves feel better. I couldn't let those things bother me and I learned to just let it go and surround myself with people who are true friends and love me for who I am.

 

SH: Why did it feel appropriate for your debut single to be an anthem about positivity?

HGC: For those who have followed me for a while, they know I have always been about being positive and my personal platform KINDness Wins—#KINDnessWinsHGC. It is about using positivity to combat negative people and bullies. And to be honest, there is so much going on in everyone's lives that I wanted to spread something happy and positive.

 

SH: Do you have a favorite lyric from the track?

HGC: "And if I get low I know I'm blessed, just need to let go. Feel my fire cause I'm ready to stay, ready to slay, yeah!"

I think this verse really hits home for me and gets to the core of the song by saying when the negative things start getting to me, I have to let them go and turn that energy around and let it be the fire that drives me forward.

(Photo credit: Jake Zaepfel)

 

SH: Can you tease anything about the music you have coming up in the future?

HGC: So I do have some really cool things coming up in the next few months! Along with a music video for "Control," I will be doing an acoustic version of this upbeat dance song. I will also be doing some special Christmas music and have more original songs coming soon.

 

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

HGC: I want to thank everyone who has helped me on this journey: Myles Erlick my producer, Nate Javier my videographer, Winkee Krick my choreographer, Ruobing Zhang my vocal coach, Jake Zaepfel for my cover photo, Miss Behave Girls for wardrobe, my backup dancers Ying Lei, Finley, Sophia and Georgia, my friends from home who helped with background people in my music video and most importantly my parents.

I hope my song really speaks to people and they love the song as much as I do.

(Photo credit: Jake Zaepfel)

 

Adore Hannah as much as we do? Click HERE to find out everything we learned about her as our Woman Crush Wednesday.