Conor Maynard fights for a failing relationship in his deeply personal new single and video By Your Side — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
The second in a series of singles inspired by an extremely difficult breakup he went through in the winter of 2022, the pop star’s latest channels the frantic experience of watching the end of a relationship you badly don’t want to let go of. By Your Side is Maynard’s message to his fans who reached out to him in the wake of the breakup and his disappearance from social media, as he took time to heel and reflect on his experience.
“I received a lot of messages when I came back online, from fans and even just people that related to the feeling of wanting to take a break from the pressures of social media,” Maynard recalls. “I realized just how many people have been through a similar notion, even when the circumstances that have led to that decision are different. For that reason, I kept the lyrics of By Your Side a little more open, so it can be interpreted to fit all different types of relationship; romantic, friendships, family, and all different reasons for letting go, whether it be through just going your separate ways, or in the hardest of scenarios, death.”
By Your Side follows the release of Maynard’s previous single If I Ever, the first taste of a bold new slate of material that Maynard plans to release throughout 2023, loosely inspired by his breakup. Featuring fiercely personal songwriting and a new confidence found touring the world, the releases mark a creative turning point for Maynard, as he lets the abundant skills of his youth blossom and steer him into new directions of artistry and creativity. If I Ever was released alongside a video, directed and produced by Maynard himself, exploring trust and suspicion in relationships and the different outcomes that they each can lead to.
Maynard rose to fame in 2012 when he won MTV’s Brand New For 2012 award, competing alongside Delilah, Michael Kiwanuka, Lana Del Rey and Lianne La Havas. He was signed to Parlophone and become one of the first home-grown talents to transition from online to IRL pop-stardom, proving the power of digital audiences while breaking new ground for countless other upcoming artists. He earned the mentorship of Ne-Yo and then exploded with his debut album Contrast, which reached No. 1 and produced five Top 10 singles. The album catapulted him to international stardom, with his YouTube channel alone boasting 13.3 million subscribers and 2.5 billion views. World tours, awards, and collaborations with major artists followed, including Pharrell Williams, The Invisible Men and Rita Ora. Maynard even starred in the Broadway show Kinky Boots, showcasing another side to his multi-faceted talent.
But 10 years after the debut album that changed his life, Maynard realized it was time for him to go at it alone. He left his label and took his career to new and unchartered heights, racking up over 300 million streams in 2021 alone, without any major player backing. It takes his worldwide reach to a staggering scale: Streams of his music surpassed two billion, and he quickly become the seventh-most-followed TikTok music account in the U.K., despite only joining the platform in 2020. The decision also allowed him to bring his music to new, adventurous heights, with a sense of artistic liberation lying at the heart of his new material.
Watch the video for By Your Side above, listen to the track on your preferred DSP HERE, sample more from Conor Maynard below, and follow him on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
