“I don’t want to be fragile.” With those quivering words, Jake & Shelby initiate a deeply moving indie pop confession – soft, personal, and intensely honest. “Fragile” opens the heart with striking truthfulness and profound emotional gravity.
Stream: “Fragile” – Jake & Shelby
Did you do this to me, or did I do this to myself?
* * *
“I don’t want to be fragile.” Shelby Hiam’s voice lingers like a heavy truth, shaky yet firm, sending chills through the listener. Singing such a line is like exposing oneself entirely – revealing the cracks, allowing the world to glimpse the vulnerabilities of your heart. It represents a breaking open, a soul laid bare, and such openness holds a unique power: the strength of being seen, of transforming private suffering into a collective experience.
There exists a particular kind of pain that weighs heavily, where words collapse under their own heaviness, leaving behind raw emotion. Jake & Shelby’s “Fragile” exists in this realm. It’s a song that teeters on the brink of breaking apart, yet shines with human connection – a dreamy indie pop confession that lays out the complicated reality of anxiety, self-blame, and yearning. Gentle yet heartbreaking, it’s the sound of two voices holding nothing back, and through their unwavering sincerity, Jake Lawson and Shelby Hiam turn personal suffering into something painfully universal and stunningly beautiful.
Fragile – Jake & Shelby
I don’t wanna be fragile
It’s been a hurdle lately
I wish I could manage
Something, anything at all
My anxieties truly hinder me
Honestly, I don’t know how we ended up here
Atwood Magazine is thrilled to present “Fragile,” the poignant and deeply personal new single from Jake & Shelby. This track comes ahead of their debut album *Learning to Love*, set for release on October 10 via EMPIRE, which sees the Nashville duo expanding their musical range while maintaining the soul-baring essence of their lyrics.
Following earlier singles “Loophole” and “You Don’t Know,” “Fragile” stands out as one of the album's most authentic and cathartic entries – a creation born from struggle that ultimately opened new avenues for Jake & Shelby, both musically and personally.
For Jake & Shelby, “Fragile” transcends being just a song; it serves as a means of confronting upheaval, anxiety, and the confusion of life transitions. What started as a deeply personal expression of vulnerability quickly became a pivotal moment for both artists, ushering in an exciting new era for the duo.
“This was the first song we wrote with Josh Ronen, who is now a dear friend and a producer for this album,” Shelby Hiam reveals to Atwood Magazine. “‘Fragile’ was a track I began writing after experiencing significant life changes, and I was so exhausted from feeling fragile. It felt like it obstructed everything, and made me feel weak. I often struggle to discern whether my anxiety and other challenges stem from my own actions or from the experiences inflicted by others, and writing this song helped me process some of that.”
“Despite it being our first time meeting Josh when we created this song, I felt really comfortable sharing all of this with him. The recording felt magical. I’d say this was the first track we recorded that ventured into a new sonic territory for us, paving the way for much of this album.”
Lyrically, “Fragile” strikes a balance between unyielding honesty and universality. Hiam’s opening lines – “I don’t wanna be fragile / It’s been getting in the way here lately / I just wish I could handle / Something, anything at all” – encapsulate the overwhelming frustration of grappling with anxiety and self-doubt. There are no metaphors to shield the meaning; it’s the raw honesty of a diary entry voiced aloud, and that stark authenticity imbues each word with significance. It’s the act of identifying what hurts most, refusing to disguise it behind poetic abstraction.
The chorus encapsulates that pain into a blend of the personal and the expansive: “So I wake up and I don’t know where I am / There’s no more room for me to stand / And the air gets thinner / Like breath in winter / Did you do this to me, or did I do this to myself?” The imagery is profoundly simple, yet impactful, evoking sensations of constriction and spiraling self-doubt. Hiam's delivery balances fragility and fortitude, capturing the complexity of breaking down while still finding the bravery to express it.
So I wake up and I don’t know where I am
There’s no more room for me to stand
And the air gets thinner
Like breath in winter
Did you do this to me
Or did I do this to myself
Musically, Lawson's guitar paired with the subtle, atmospheric production envelops these words
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"I don't want to be fragile." With those quivering words, Jake and Shelby launch into a heartfelt indie pop confession – gentle, personal, and profoundly raw, "Fragile" opens the heart wide with its unwavering honesty and stunning emotional depth.