With an opening bassline that vibrates like a plucked heartstring, “How We Used To” sees Stephanie Poetri deal with some unprocessed feelings over a break. “How could I ever fall in love again? / How could I ever find another friend, like you?” the Indonesian-American singer/songwriter delivers on the chorus of this twilight-hued pop song. The subtle, laid-back production intertwines with Stephanie’s voice, one rich with emotion as she ponders whether to reconcile with the other or accept that what they had is over. At face value, “How We Used To” is a new anthem with those struggling with their own breakup, but the song’s subtext reveals not just a greater struggle but the depth of Stephanie’s musical prowess.
“I use my songwriting to navigate moments in my life that I may not have processed in the moment even if I didn’t realize I hadn’t fully processed it!” Stephanie shares with HollywoodLife. “Taking the big leap to move away from my family, loved ones, home in Jakarta was a huge step for me and my career and one I wasn’t able to fully understand until I sat down and wrote a song about it. ‘How We Used To’ is all about nostalgia, a love letter to Jakarta and the people I moved away from and my old life that felt very far away at the time.”
“I think after writing this, I was able to fully jump into all of the new and exciting things that were happening around me that I was so so grateful for,” continues Stephanie. “I hope my fans can relate to something in their lives where they were given an opportunity that they maybe had initial hesitations that they had to work through. Nothing is every 100% good or 100% bad, you know, and it’s okay to feel those full range of emotions, good and bad. Don’t feel guilty about your emotions. Feel them fully and learn from them and move on!”
“How We Used To” follows “Selfish,” the playful track Stephanie put out in December after a year that saw her release a handful of tracks (“Do You Love Me,” “Touch,” and “Straight to You.”) She will be anything but selfish in 2021. “How We Used To” heralds her upcoming EP, AM:PM. The project represents “the duality between emotions that can arise during the morning…versus the evening,” according to InqPop!. Expect to stream it from dusk until dawn when AM:PM arrives in March.
“How We Used To” is out now.