Fingers Crossed With You, listening to a Ghost Story – just Don’t Let Her

Weekends never seem long enough, do they? But since it’s already Monday, at least Monday means music! This week is a freebie week, so feel free to grab your favorite tune(s) and come dance with us, won’t you?

Let’s start with a Vancouver Island native who first came to the public attention when she was a contestant in the 2020 season of American Idol. She made it through the early rounds but got voted out after reaching the Top 20.

When she previewed this particular song on TikTok in late 2021, the clip racked up over 22 million views. She released it as a single on January 5, 2022, and in less than a day the song hit #1 on the US iTunes chart and #2 on the global chart.

The emotional song finds the artist addressing her ex, who broke up with her. She remembers the hours she spent trying to fix his issues with his father and helping him to write songs. She ignored her friends, who told her he was taking advantage of her and that their relationship was doomed to end in heartbreak. All the time her boyfriend was telling her how much he loved her, he must have had his fingers crossed behind his back.

The artist wrote this song after moving on to a new relationship. Feeling loved and healed from her heartbreak, she could reflect on her previous romance from a new perspective. She said:

“For a while, I think I was in an ‘I’m heartbroken, nobody loves me, I hate myself’ mindset while writing songs. But for this one, I met somebody new that was raising my standards and teaching me how I should be treated. I went into my session feeling angry and wanted to write a heartbreak song. We came up with the ‘[this song]’ idea, and I think the song speaks for itself. It has that angsty emotion. It’s not just, ‘Oh, you’re going to cry in your bedroom.’ It’s, ‘I’m mad at this person, I’m angry, I could say sorry but I’m not.'”

“Everyone has that one person, whether it’s a family member, friend, ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend, who they feel they spent time on for no reason.”

Give a listen to Lauren Spencer-Smith with “Fingers Crossed”:

Next up is a song that caught my ear when I was watching last week’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy, so of course I had to track it down. Do you ever feel the need to hunt down a song when it catches your ear when you hear it on something you’re watching?

This song is by a Dutch-Israeli singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer, and is one of several of his tracks that have shown up on the show in recent years. It’s from the singer’s third studio album, which came out in 2021 and charted in both the Netherlands and Belgium.

The lovely mellow track is all about being in pain from past hurts, but being able to heal that pain by simply being with the person you love.

Get ready for goosebumps, here’s Dotan with “With You”:

Next up is a brand new song from this favorite artist – the song finds her knowing she’s better off than her ex-lover after he broke up with her. While she’s out with her friends enjoying the single life, he’s sitting at home haunted by her memory. The artist was quoted as saying:

“The song is hauntingly beautiful, has a really wide range and amazing melody and just tells this really cool, cinematic story of how this guy is never going to be able to let go of the girl he let go of because she’s just always going to be haunting him. He’s going to see her everywhere. He’s gonna want her back but she’s moved on – sorry man.”

The artist has always been partial to a dramatic revenge song, and this haunting tune is another one that fits snugly into her catalog.

“I feel like everything that I’ve done, even at the most out of character, is still a small part of me. It’s fun to be able to kind of tap into that. And to some extent, I guess you do kind of have to be a bit of an actress to like go there, but that’s what’s so fun about it.”

When the artist heard the demo for the first time, she was drawn to the powerful woman at the center of the song’s narrative.

“It’s not like ‘Before He Cheats’ – that’s a different kind of powerful. That’s somebody that’s actively causing some destruction to someone else. This one is more like, ‘You made a big mistake. I’m going to be fine. I’m going to get over you, but you’re not ever going to get over me and you’re going to wake up, you’re going to realize it, and it’s too late.'”

Without further ado, here’s the inimitable Carrie Underwood with “Ghost Story”:

Last, but certainly not least, this artist and his wife have been together since high school. The idea of this soulful song is if the artist should leave this planet before her, he wanted to help the next man who comes along.

We always said we’d go together / But if I’m just half of her forever / This goes out to whoever / Takes my place

The artist goes on to list some of his wife’s likes, dislikes and personality quirks:

Don’t you dare come home if you’re hammered
Better watch your mouth and your grammar
She loves babies, hates glitter
You better shave before you kiss her
And if she ever misses me, please, don’t let her

The song originated when the artist was touring the UK and missing his wife and the rest of his family. The singer explained that he started jotting down specifics about his wife:

“…things that if somebody were to hang out with her, what would they need to know about her.”

Shortly after, he put those thoughts to music. He wrote this song with his songwriter friends during a time when he was really struggling with the June 2018 death of his newborn daughter Oakleigh. The idea for the heartwarming song was inspired by the idea of loved ones moving on after we’re gone.

Get ready for more goosebumps, here’s Walker Hayes with “Don’t Let Her”:

That’s a wrap for this week – have a great Monday! See you on the dance floor!

Now onto the particulars of Monday’s Music Move’s Me:  

I have the supreme honor and privilege of being a co-host with the inimitable Xmas Dolly and our musical cohort, the awesome Cathy from Curious as a CAThy, and Alana of Ramblin’ with AM!

Want to join in the fun? It’s easy – just find a tune that rocks your boat, post it and link up – don’t forget to grab Xmas Dolly…er, um, I mean her button…over at her place here. Check out Xmas Dolly’s sidebar for the random themes we sport each week – and you can always ask for a specific theme of music you like, too. Check out the other music lovahs and let’s jam!