New song slams social media

MUSICIAN Simone Govender has released a song that highlights the influence of social media on people’s lives.

Govender’s latest pop rock track The Attention’s Really Killing Me was launched last week.

“The song is about how social media can influence the way we feel about our lives and what we believe is the ‘right’ way to live. This song was born from my personal experience.

“I was stuck in a place where I was torn between trying to follow what I wanted for my life and what others were telling me to do. The more time I spent on social media, the more I felt like I was being left behind and living life wrong. To make things worse, I was also receiving a lot of hate from trolls on Tiktok and Instagram about my music and appearance. The anxiety I was feeling at the time, sparked the idea for the song,” said Govender.

She then wrote the song with Nick Jordaan and Hugo Ludik.

She said the track had a catchy high energy melody, relatable lyrics and includes a guitar solo that would appeal to a broad audience.

Govender said the message she would like to relay is that a person’s worth was not dependent on the amount of likes they got on social media or what people say about them on social media.

“I always make sure that my writing is not just words on a paper but that I need to send a message and connect with people,” she said.

Govender, 25, who was born in Tongaat and now living in Johannesburg, has three other singles titled, Fighter, Save Me and Need to be Yours.

She said she tried to write her songs from a place where she was at that moment.

“Back in the day I struggled to voice my opinion about how I felt and I found writing my feelings down and singing about them made it a little easier to deal with them.

Govender’s first taste of the music world was when she started piano lessons at the age of 5.

“By the time I was 14 I knew I wanted to be a musician. But after school I decided to study psychology as a back-up career. But for now music is my focus. I teach piano and guitar and do some vocal training.”

She said she entered talent competitions like The Voice, SA’S Got Talent and X-factor but never made it past the auditions.

“You would think someone who faced that much rejection would not do it at all. But there was something that kept me wanting to do it,” she said.

Govender said she would love to work on an album and perform internationally, adding she would love to work with Ed Sheeran.

The Attention’s Really Killing Me is available on the music streaming platforms such as itunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Youtube.