Jenny Stenger’s new single looks at new love and red flags

By Max Bowen

Being in love is great, isn’t it? Until things go south, that is. That’s something we’ve all gone through—a relationship starts off great and then takes a turn south and we ask ourselves, “Did I miss something?”

That’s part of the story behind Jenny Stenger’s new single, “Rose Colored Glasses,” released on Sept. 29. In this interview, Jenny shares the song’s origin, how her own love story played a part, and the message she hopes to impart.

You can find the song on numerous platform here: https://lnk.to/rosecoloredlenses


Where did the idea for “Rose Colored Lenses” come from?
I’ve always been afraid of falling in love with someone and becoming blind to red flags. I’ve spent most of my life being single, so I’ve thought a lot about what I wanted/didn’t want in a relationship, and I’ve always hoped I would stay self-aware once I got into a relationship. When I started falling in love for the first time, I was hyper-aware of everything that could go wrong. I got really scared that it was too good to be true, and there must be something I’m missing- I must be wearing rose-colored lenses.

New love is a theme of this song. Did your own experiences factor into the lyrics?
I basically use songwriting as my diary. I wrote this song in the beginning stages of my first relationship, and I was experiencing so many different feelings and needed something to do with them. One of my favorite things about songwriting is how something so personal starts to feel universal once it’s out in the world.

I read that the genre is “sad girl pop.” How would you define this?
I feel like just calling it “pop” is too broad- it’s a lot slower and sadder than typical pop music. I also feel like it fits in well with the female artists I listen to, who write a lot of sad lyrics and attract a predominantly female fanbase. Obviously, I would love for my music to reach all audiences, but I feel like that gives listeners a good idea of what they’re getting into.

I really liked the sound of the song. How did you develop this?
It started out as just a voice memo of me singing and playing piano, and my friends Brady Sossaman and Seth Wentland helped flesh it out and fill out the instrumentation. Brady wrote and recorded all the guitar parts, and Seth did the production. The strings in the bridge and the slide guitar are my favorite parts of the song, and I’m so lucky to have a team of talented friends who know exactly how to bring my vision to life.

Are these any lines which really encompass the message? 

I think the line “I don’t want to fall in love alone” encompasses the song really well. A lot of the lyrics express the idea of not feeling like you’re good enough for anyone to fall for, and that something must be wrong. I think a lot of people are afraid to admit how scary new relationships can be because they don’t want to take away from the excitement and joy, and I hope this song gets the message across that it’s okay to be both anxious and excited at the same time.