Coming off a scorching run in 2021, Toronto-based neo-soul and alternative R&B artist Eric Ryan kickstarts the new year with his new single, “Better”.
Eric is no stranger to the team here at Aurision - if you’ve been following closely, we first spotlighted his song “Everytime” on Week 12 of our Aurision’s 18 playlist (not to sound like a broken record, but you should really check that out now if you haven’t yet).
Before I discuss the single itself, I would be remiss to ignore how Eric Ryan grabbed the digital world by storm in 2021.
As crazy as it may sound, Eric has only been creating original music for a little over two years now - and after electrifying the scene in 2020 with singles such as “Soleil”, “Close”, and “Angel”, every passing year seems to be yet another record year for the mid-20s artist.
In 2021 alone, Eric amassed over 1.5 million streams across 350 thousand unique listeners total. The past year also saw the release of Eric’s highly anticipated debut EP, “Dream State”, which received great critical acclaim in the weeks following.
On the cusp of career year three, Eric Ryan’s starpower shows no signs of dimming any time soon.
With “Better”, it’s clear that Eric Ryan isn’t figuratively trying to reinvent the wheel here - he’s just improving on his original design with each iteration and release, and doing it better than his peers to boot.
“Better” is a soulful and evocative R&B track that excellently showcases Eric’s continued growth as a songwriter and vocalist. Eric’s mellow crooning here is simply earcandy, and lyrically straddles the line between youthful and mature. The track itself discusses the heavy regret of being unable to change the past and who you once were, and coming to terms with hurting a close loved one. The message encapsulates closure, and as a changed and matured individual, Eric finally feels like he has the right to say his piece. At the same time, Eric can’t pretend he doesn’t want his lover back - he asks them not to make him beg, but he ends up pleading for their return regardless.
We’re only entering the third week of 2022, and I’m already confident that Eric Ryan is on track to demolish our expectations and truly cement himself in the industry.
Comments