New York, NY (Top40 Charts) "No Halo," the debut single and lyric video released today (February 26) by emerging country artist KATE CLARK, announces the arrival of a fresh talent who's been gifted with an expressive, elastic voice matched with her sharp yet vulnerable sense of songwriting. With KATE's introspective lyrics about maintaining a strong self-identity in the face of life's obstacles and a melodically bright, uplifting chorus, the song is "a melting pot of old-school and new-school," says the Nashville-based and Austin-born-and-raised artist. "No Halo" was co-written and produced by
David Lyndon Huff, whose extensive Nashville credits include producing the Doobie Brothers' multi-artist tribute album Southbound with such artists as the
Zac Brown Band and Vince Gill, and who is the younger brother of renowned producer Dann Huff. Listen to the song here and watch the lyric video here.
KATE plans to keep the excitement building throughout 2021; the singer and songwriter will release a series of singles, a song per month, alternating between original tracks and striking reinterpretations of songs by
Oasis ("
Wonderwall"), the
Doobie Brothers ("Black Water"), and
Justin Timberlake ("
Drink You Away").
With "No Halo," KATE aims straight for the heart with lyrics such as "It ain't easy/ Nothing's ever fair/You, me and God know/You can still be good with no halo."
"Writing 'No Halo' was both unfortunately and fortunately a very easy topic for me to write about," reveals KATE. "Perfection. Why do we seek perfection? We know it's unattainable, but even knowing this we put ourselves down. For girls and women especially, we're conditioned from a young age to be 'good'…you know, 'be a good girl.' I was far from perfect. I endured profound pain that over the years turned into profound joy and freedom. It's amazing what real self-acceptance can do for the human spirit. The 'Halo' to me represented perfection, so the title 'No Halo' just made sense. I hope when people hear this song it can be another reminder, in the midst of commerce selling perfection, to embrace your 'flaws," learn from your failures, and most importantly allow yourself to grow. You can still and always will be good if you can love yourself just as you are, right where you are, even if you've misplaced your 'halo' or you never had one to begin with."