Some songs are carefully planned, while others burst into existence with unstoppable force. You Don’t Believe Her is absolutely the second type. The song emerged from deep frustration, painful memories, and a lifetime of witnessing survivors being ignored and doubted. It came to life in a moment of powerful emotion. A casual conversation with an older acquaintance, who questioned widely reported allegations against powerful men, provided the final push. For the artist, the feeling wasn’t just anger—it was genuine heartbreak. How could someone with daughters and granddaughters speak that way? What kind of message does that send to the women in his own family?
From that conversation, the first verse and chorus flooded out through tears and a feeling of shared anger felt by countless women. Decades of watching victims struggle to be believed—from Anita Hill to Christine Blasey Ford—created the urgency driving this track. The message comes through loud and clear: when you dismiss survivors in the news, the women in your own life are paying attention, and they understand far more than you realize.
Mixing rock energy, country influences, unfiltered vocals, and compelling storytelling, the song represents another fearless step for an artist who refuses to let genre limit emotional truth. You Don’t Believe Her isn’t simply a new release—it’s a powerful moment of confrontation and truth-telling that demands to be heard!
Listen to You Don’t Believe Her
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What was the inspiration behind “You Don’t Believe Her,” and what story or message are you conveying through this song?
The constant news of the Epstein list, Trump being found liable for rape (and bragging about sexual assault against women) but the men involved never facing accountability for these crimes has been taking a toll on a lot of us. It’s very hard to hear day after day. As my frustration grew over the summer, I was having a casual conversation with an older man, an acquaintance, when he said something dismissive about the allegations against Trump. “You don’t really believe he did those things, do you?” I was incensed. I saw red.
All I could think for the week following was, this man has daughters, granddaughters, and how would they ever feel safe going to him if they ever suffered something like that? Does he even realize he is destroying their faith in him when he says such things? I woke up one morning with this exchange still ringing in my ears, my rage was overwhelming me.
Tears started rolling down my face as I recalled how many times I’ve seen these stories throughout my life and it never seems to change. I’m 49 years old. I grew up in the eighties. I watched Anita Hill testify before Congress, and still Clarence Thomas sits on the Supreme Court. I watched Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testify, and still Brett Kavanaugh sits on the Supreme Court. Trump has been in the news since my childhood and his abuse of women is well documented.
Case after case after case. The years go by, the victims change, the behavior and the lack of accountability never does. Combine that with the horrific slander that victims face on social media and it’s too much. I keep saying “I didn’t want to write this song. I had to. It didn’t give me a choice.” This song didn’t come out of me, it came through me, as if the collective rage of every woman I know was screaming in my head as I found myself writing the first verse and chorus.
The message of the song is simple: When you say awful things about the survivors you see in the media, those women don’t hear you, but your daughters, granddaughters, nieces, mothers, every woman in your proximity is getting the message. You don’t believe her, why would you believe me?
How does “You Don’t Believe Her” reflect your current artistic style or personal experiences?
One of the most challenging things for getting my music out in front of people seems to be my inability to neatly fit into a single genre. There’s no one label that defines the style of my songs. I guess I’m not learning to adapt, because You Don’t Believe Her certainly checks a few boxes without fitting into a single pigeon hole.
I didn’t want to hold back on the emotion of this song at all, so there is definitely more of a rock element to the overall production, even though my voice seems to lean country. I knew I wanted to call on Michael again for the fiddle, but even with the twang that his sound brings the song does not sit squarely in the country genre.
My last single Known 3 Yrs definitely had more of a country vibe and I wanted to hold some of that for continuity’s sake, but I just can’t shake my love of hair bands and monster ballads, and this song absolutely called for every ounce of raw emotion that those influences bring to the table. When I sent the scratch track over to Andrew for the guitar tracks I said, “I think you know me by now. 80’s pop princess goes 90’s country with some hair band big guitar drama.” He absolutely delivered!
Can you describe the creative process for this single, from writing to production?
I keep mentioning the raw emotion and that’s really the through line in this whole process. The morning I started writing the song I was literally sobbing. The song just overwhelmed me. By the next afternoon I had it pretty much done, lyrics and melody (which always arrive together for me. Never separately) and I had the changes mapped out on my guitar.
I said to my husband and best friend “I don’t think I can ever share this. But I feel like I have to.” I sent the scratch demo I had made in garage band to my bestie as we were departing from a visit. I said, “Give it a listen in the car and tell me what you think” and we went our separate ways. I hadn’t even made it to the next exit on the Thruway when she texted me back and Siri read the message back to me, “Girl!!! The world needs this song. Do it!”
I tidied up the scratch track (barely) and sent it off to Chris for the drums before I could chicken out, knowing that if I started investing in the project I wouldn’t walk away. One of the things I love most about working with Chris is he really has a feel for underscoring and accenting the sub text in my lyrics. He always seems to tap in to the feelings behind the lyrics. I sent him the scratch with my apologies.
The scratch vocal was really just out of control screlting. (Technical term we classically trained vocalists like to use, when a singer doesn’t just belt, but screams the belt and it’s not a flattering thing!). The song was so new, I hadn’t even had the chance to pace my emotions, so it was really overly dramatic. But it helped him even more to build up the intensity I needed. Every time I listen to the bridge of the song I’m glad I sent him that awful version of myself screlting away, because it gave him plenty to work with!
I don’t usually give the guys specific instructions. I’m not a great instrumentalist. They are! So I let them do their job. But there was one specific request I had for the drums. I knew that coming out of the first verse before the chorus I wanted that pause to hang out for an uncomfortably long time, and then I wanted the harshest, most violent crack on the snare he could give me on the pick up to the chorus. “It should sound like a gunshot and feel like someone punched you in the gut”.
How do your musical influences shape the sound and mood of “You Don’t Believe Her”?
I was heavily influenced by the female country artists of the 90’s. Martina McBride’s big vocals on songs like Independence Day that really cut with a harsh message, Reba McEntire’s fearless commitment to putting out songs like Fancy and She Thinks His Name Was John. Their influence definitely shaped how and why I put this song together.
When I was just a kid, if you asked me what my favorite song was, I almost always answered Shadows of the Night by Pat Benatar. I’ve always felt energized by that song. Working on the vocals for this track, my engineer convinced me I really needed to lay down some doubles. I was hesitant. I’m not super experienced recording. I record all the vocals myself at home. I do my own editing and comping. I’ve learned a lot since my first attempts at How Dare She, mostly I’ve learned to trust what Matt tells me to do!
So I sent him four sets of doubles on the lead and four back up parts. It’s always been a running joke among my fellow singer friends that I am epically bad at singing harmony and back up vocals, but I’ve really surprised myself over these last four songs. I’m starting to enjoy the process of layering all the vocal tracks. And Matt was right (of course). He mixed them beautifully. I totally feel like a rock star. The doubles definitely brought a bigger feel to the song. I don’t think I’m on par with Pat Benatar, but that’s what I’m aspiring to!I asked for it that way because that’s exactly how the song came to me the morning I wrote it. As I mentioned, I was crying, jotting down the first verse and as I wandered around my bedroom wondering “where is this song going?” I suddenly felt like someone punched me and the realization of all my anger crystallized. I just wanted to scream the line “You Don’t Believe Her. Why would you believe me?” That’s how it came to me and that’s how I wanted to send it into the world.
How are you planning to promote “You Don’t Believe Her”? Any upcoming performances or videos?
I do have a lyric video that will be dropping with the release! This is the first time I’ve collaborated with someone to create one. I’ve been posting a lot on social media and honestly, I don’t have to look far for material to use. Every day brings another headline, another perpetrator, another disappointing reaction from the justice system.
I’ve been scouring comments for the kinds of awful statements that inspired this song. I spent over an hour one night, lying in bed taking screenshots of the most demeaning and offensive things that actual people posted about the survivors of Epstein’s trafficking. Honestly, I really wish my song wasn’t relevant. I wish I could write something pleasant right now. But pulling these screenshots and posting them (names blacked out of course, though I don’t feel they deserve anonymity) is all the justification I need for my rage filled song. I guess I should thank the internet trolls for the marketing materials!
What can listeners expect next from you following this single? Are there plans for more releases or an album?
I have two songs currently in process. After the first of the year I plan to release something light hearted and just a tad snarky. (If you go snooping in my TikTok profile, you just might find it!) It’s too much to carry the weight of all that is going on with us every day. I want my music to be thought provoking and impactful, but sometimes we need a break. Some times we just don’t have the energy and that’s ok. Hint. Hint.
This little tune is another sharp turn stylistically into a different lane, but after that I have a real country tune lined up. There better not any debate as whether that one is “country enough” for some folks! Because I’m going to lean in to my rural roots hard on that one. I’m a firm believer in serving the song, not any one genre. Like I said, I’m confusing people because I don’t like limiting myself. As a songwriter and a singer, I like to give the song what it needs.
What does releasing new music mean to you at this time in your career?
Right now I’m just trying to build a catalogue so people have plenty to hear from me. I waited a long time to have this opportunity, and I don’t intend to waste it. I’m not topping any charts or setting the world on fire with streaming numbers (yet), but just getting a single comment from a listener on social media saying that my song made a difference in their day keeps me going. It’s easy to feel lost in the void, so knowing that my music is reaching someone feels like a lifeline, even if it’s just one person a day. That’s what it’s all about.
How do you balance your musical inspirations with your unique artistic voice?
I kinda think I might have touched on this above!! Like I said, I try to serve each song and bring to it what I feel will best serve the message and the mood. I have a pretty eclectic range of influences, not only from my eighties childhood of pop and hair bands to the 90’s country, but I’ve studied classically. I’ve sung in operas and musical theatre productions. I love the mathematical perfection and symmetry of Mozart and the sweeping lyricism of Puccini. I’ve often felt Puccini and hair bands have a lot in common. Several of these influences share a common element: they tend to lean on story telling. So I guess, each single for me is a three to four minute theatrical, albeit auditory, production. To tell the story, I just pull the tools available from each of these respective tool boxes as needed!
