Kara Connolly asks as a very simple question in her latest track: what is your dream? Not the kind that people expect of you, of course, but rather one that allows you to live the life you’ve always wanted.
Finding herself succumbing to the hopes and expectations of others, Connolly penned “Build A Dream” to urge her listeners worldwide to lift the veil of the American Dream and to look inwards to forge a new path. Recounted over a fairy-tale-esque melody, “Build A Dream” lulls us into an idyllic soundscape where the artist’s angelic vocals slowly disillusion us from the restraints of society — allowing us to finally think for ourselves despite the ideals of others.
From the artist herself, she explains, “In our society, there is a standard progression of things: go to school, get into a good college, land a 9 to 5, date around, settle down, get married, etc. I’ve noticed that when I tell people I’ve been with my boyfriend for 7+ years, the first thing they do is look down at my ringless finger and say, ‘So when’s he going to pop the question? Do I need to have a little sit down with him?’ You know, as though I must just be dying inside waiting for his proposal. But what if I don’t want the white-picket-fenced American Dream that everyone says I should? What if that’s not my dream? It’s vulnerable for me to be this real with myself, let alone with strangers on the internet and all of my family and friends, but I think the fact that it scares me to put this song out means that I should. Because maybe someone out there feels the same way and needs to see this message in their sea of pregnancy posts, ‘You know when you know’ platitudes, and wedding videos, as beautiful as those are. Ultimately, this is a song about staying true to ourselves first and foremost; a track about sifting through the outside voices, however loud, to ask ourselves the hard-hitting questions and find our own inner voice and knowing. For some, that may be a deep desire to get married, which is incredible. For me? I’ve never followed the formula or been one for convention, so why would I start now?”
Potentially marking one of her most personal works to date, Connolly’s latest single sets the tone of an honest artist who isn’t afraid to look her fans in the face, playing them not what they want to hear, necessarily, but certainly, what they didn’t know they needed to.
To stream “Build A Dream” now, head below…