Knox on His Viral Anthem ‘Love Letter’ and Writing Songs to Perform Live

Nashville-based singer-songwriter Knox first rocketed onto our radars with the success of his ultra-catchy viral hit "Sneakers," but we think his latest single, "Love Letter," has everything it takes to be an even bigger smash.

The Ohio native's new song has already seen huge success on TikTok, with its teaser videos racking up nearly 3 million views—and changing all of Knox's plans by convincing him it needed to be his next single. It's an upbeat anthem about a heartbroken girl who turns things around after the end of a bad relationship, learning to pick herself up and continue living her best life, and it simply demands listeners to sing along with the infectious chorus. We loved it from the first listen, and we had the pleasure of hopping onto a Zoom call with Knox himself to learn more about the track and why it's so special to him.

Sweety High: What's the story behind "Love Letter"? Was there any real-life instance that inspired it at all?

Knox: Honestly, no. It's not based off of a true story or anything. I wanted to write a song that had that storytelling feel to it. Months ago, I came up with the whole idea of how she's burning away love letters, and it's because love let her down. I thought that was a cool play on words.

It's funny—we actually wrote like three different versions of this song. There's a pop version that's totally different. It's not the same at all. It went from this pop song to this full-blown rock song that I think is so cool. I'm so excited. It's awesome to see where the song is now, just because there have been so many different versions. It's had such a life, and it's cool that it's finally coming out.

That was also unexpected. It wasn't supposed to be the next song to come out. I just posted a little clip of it on TikTok, because I needed something to post, and it just went. Now, here we are, and it's the next single. I think that's really cool.

 

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SH: Speaking of TikTok and the huge reception it's getting there, what does it mean to you that fans are instantly connecting to the track and showing such great support?

Knox: Honestly, it's really cool, especially after having a moment with my song "Sneakers." "Sneakers" was my first big thing to ever happen, and it was relatively huge. As someone who uses TikTok as a promotional and marketing tool, I always have to wonder, am I ever going to be able to capture a moment like that again? Or am I just a one-hit TikTok wonder?

This has been the best reaction to any song since then. It's cool, seven months after that, to still see people connecting with the music. That's really refreshing, especially after putting out a whole EP. That phase of my life is now over, and it was a cool phase, when I had a lot of eyes on me, so to put out this next song and have an even better response than the whole EP did is really cool. It's really nice and reassuring to see that people are listening and are genuine fans of the music.

(Photo credit: Acacia Evans)

 

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SH: The track has this anthemic, triumphant feel, even in the aftermath of heartbreak. What does it mean to you, and what do you hope it's meaning to your listeners?

Knox: When I listen to the song, it's a reminder that everything is going to be all right, no matter how bad it is. We've all been through terrible relationships. Everybody's had some love trauma in their life. If you haven't, then I'm so jealous of you.

It's got this uplifting sense of, no, I don't have to be upset that this happened. I can move on and be okay. It's all fine. I like how you brought up the anthemic feel to it because I feel like every song I write is written for the live show. Every time I'm making any kind of new song, I ask myself, "But is it going to be awesome live?" That's how I gauge my favorite songs. That was the goal—I wanted a chorus that you can have people just scream and yell at the top of their lungs.

(Photo credit: Acacia Evans)

 

SH: Speaking of singing along, do you have a favorite lyric from the track? Is it something from the chorus everyone would be singing along to, or something from one of the verses that others might miss?

Knox:  So this is kind of weird—it's not so much the actual lyric (I mean, the lyric is cool itself), but I love the moment after the first chorus hits, and it all stops, and it goes right into the line, "It's the oldest tale in history." The way that it comes in, and the way that it transitions into the verse, is so satisfying on the ear. And I thought that line was just so funny, because, like I said, every girl has that one guy that totally played her and let her down completely. There's a lot more to that line than people think and it feels so good in the song. "Love let her down—yeah, it's the oldest tale in history." And then it just goes right back in. That's probably my favorite part of the song. I just think it's so musically smooth.

(Photo credit: Acacia Evans)

 

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SH: Is there anything else we should know?

Knox: For everybody that has listened to any of my music, we have more coming, and it's not going to stop, and it's just going to get better. It's crazy. Like I said, this song wasn't even supposed to be the next one to come out. I'm just as excited for what's to follow this one, and it's cool that this one's having a little moment. I think it's really special and I'm very, very grateful.

 

For more insights from our favorite rising artists, click HERE to read our interview with Frawley on the new single "Crying My Eyes Out."