When it comes to her disarmingly honest music, alt pop singer/songwriter Carlie Hanson doesn’t lock up the contents of her heart. In fact, she’s never even had a key made.
She lays things bare, and navigates the often rough waters of life through intimate and impeccable songcraft.
On her latest diary-honest single, the mid-tempo “Take My L,” Hanson remains musically fearless. Her pain is palpable in the fragile and crystalline timber of her gorgeous voice, but the song is threaded with a note of hope.
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“I was definitely not in the best place mentally when I wrote this song,” Hanson says. “I was struggling balancing work, personal shit, and being unhappy with living in L.A. I just didn’t really know if I was on the right track, because things weren’t going upward in my life. I felt like I was at a standstill and not accomplishing the goals that I had.”
Going deeper, she explains that the “L” of the title is NOT what you might think at first glance, saying, “I want to reiterate this about the song: People who have heard the chorus snippet of ‘Take My L,’ think that the ‘L’ means ‘life,’ which is not what I meant when writing this. It’s a common slang saying ‘Take the L,’ which means ‘Take the loss’ or ‘Accept the defeat’ kinda thing.”
Hanson’s latest EP, too late to cry, is out now via Fearless Records. Listen here.
Carlie Hanson’s music is the sound of tears drying, acceptance cementing, and confidence growing. The Wisconsin-born alternative pop singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer processes raw emotions with a combination of acute Gen-Z empathy, wisdom beyond her years, and a penchant for timeless songcraft. Proudly hailing from Onalaska, WI, Carlie quietly broke through at 17-years-old with “Only One” in 2017. She nabbed the ultimate co-sign when Taylor Swift added the tune to an Apple Music playlist of favorites. It eventually amassed over 77 million Spotify streams. The rising songstress only accelerated her momentum with “Us,” “Mood,” “Toxins,” “Numb,” and “Back In My Arms,” which gathered over 25 million Spotify streams. She emerged as the rare phenomenon equally comfortable on a bill with either Yungblud or Troye Sivan and Kim Petras. Meanwhile, she evolved across Tough Boy [2022] and Wisconsin [2023]. Alternative Press hailed Wisconsin as an enthralling ode to growing up in the Midwest and her journey to Los Angeles.” After generating hundreds of millions of streams and garnering acclaim from PAPER, V Magazine, FAULT, OnesToWatch, Billboard, Consequence of Sound, and more, it’s easy to hear a musical and personal transformation take hold on her 2025 debut EP for Fearless Records, too late to cry. Parting ways with her previous label and reorganizing her team, Carlie carefully pieced together the EP in her Los Angeles apartment. By gaining strength to hold her head up and pushing forward through pain and challenges, she encourages listeners to do the same.
