Caroline Romano Ends the Year with New Heart-Wrenching Single, 'Tell Her I Said Hi'
Edited by Anna Mengani
Caroline Romano is a 22-year-old Nashville-based alt-pop singer and songwriter with a growing fanbase. She released her first single 'Masterpiece’ featuring Jacob Whitesides in 2017 and her first EP Oddities & Prodigies in 2022, which included all her previously released singles with some added new releases. This year she dropped her latest EP A Brief Epic which includes my favorite song ‘Guts.' Caroline piqued my interest when I heard her latest single 'Tell Her I Said Hi’ so, of course, I had to binge-listen to her entire discography. Listening to her discography in order, you witness the growth and maturity in her voice. Caroline writes emotionally relatable and honest songs that capture her young adulthood. Her music reminds me of artists like Gracie Abrams with her strong emotional lyrics, the anger in her voice similar to Charlotte Sands, and a pop beat like Tate McRae.
'Tell Her I Said Hi’ is about the feelings you experience post-break-up; feeling hurt, angry, jealous, and yet relieved all at the same time. Caroline begins by recalling the start of their relationship. She recalls all the times her partner has let her down by lying or disappointing her. She confesses, “And now I'm waiting for your call, you said you would and I believed it, guess I must love being wrong, I don’t know how I didn’t see it.” That is such a heartbreaking confession, wanting to give your partner the benefit of the doubt and believe them but in the end just being disappointed by them again and later realizing this pattern. The pattern that you stood by and accepted because you were too blinded by what you thought was love. After the beat drops, the lyrics change from a hurt and saddened tone to angry, jealous, and petty, “lied through your teeth while you looked me in the eye.” To add to the pettiness, Caroline bravely name-drops her ex’s new girl Victoria then starts with the known all too well comparisons. She talks about how his new girl is everything she is not. The most unfortunately painfully relatable lyric for a lot of young adult girls who have gone through a difficult break-up is expressed by Caroline in the line, “So I hang my body to the bone to rid myself of every curve you once adored, cause they still feel like yours.” I could not have put that feeling into better words, she perfectly described what it feels like to feel like your body is not your own. You can get rid of the gifts, letters, and shared photos of the relationship, but your own body that they once loved and touched now feels tainted with their "love." Towards the end of the single, she starts naming things she misses but not necessarily in a sad way, it's more like she's accepting the fact that it's over and signaling the end of their era. She acknowledges that he is not hers' anymore and she's not the problem.
Now, the title itself deserves some recognition. 'Tell Her I Said Hi’ is the perfect mix of the lyrics, it sounds petty, jealous, and angry. Caroline explains her thought process in the making of the title, “I wrote this song after finding out he had already moved on with someone else just days after we broke up. I was thinking about it nonstop, playing out different scenarios in my head about what I'd say to him if I ever saw him again, and 'tell her I said hi' is the line that came to mind.” Caroline sculpted the perfect title to tie the whole song together, which signifies the anger she felt when initially finding out in the end finally accepting the closure she needed.
Similar to a lot of Caroline’s music, 'Tell Her I Said Hi’ has an angsty guitar sound mixed with somber piano which makes a perfect blend to compliment her raspy and passionate voice. I’m hooked on the constant tone right before the first beat drop. She keeps her tone and the notes steady and repetitive then right before the drop she slows down the rhythm as she boldly and demandingly states the title. Then, boom, the beat drop that my head uncontrollably started banging to. Her voice gets louder and superior with the booming drum beat to accommodate. The end of the song is one of my favorite parts because she ends with the title. When she ends, it sounds like closure, as though she is finally done and her voice sounds relieved.
This is only the second single to what I hope Caroline will release as an album along with her previous drop 'girl in a china shop’. I look forward to listening and following along on Caroline’s journey as she gains more and more traction. Listen to Caroline Romano's New Single ‘Tell Her I Said Hi’ on all platforms now!
Caroline Romano
