Aubory Bugg’s story is one that’s become a bit more familiar over the years: a queer young songwriter born and raised in the rural Midwest finds her voice at open mics before finding a much broader community on social media after posting snippets of her songs. After a Reneé Rapp cover blew up on TikTok, a career in music came at the 21-year-old musician fast, with a deal inked with Dualtone, an opening slot for Courtney Marie Andrews, and a move to Nashville soon to follow. “My parents always told me anything you want is within reach, as long as you’re willing to work for it—and that stuck with me,” Bugg shares. “Nobody’s going to do it for you. I think everything I make comes from that place of wanting to be as honest as possible about where I’m at, even when it’s uncomfortable.”
Today Bugg returns with her first single for the label, “i think i had something once,” which sees her looking back fondly on the life she so quickly left behind. The gently strummed acoustic tune hits the sweet spot between indie folk and alt-country twang as Bugg ruminates on small moments that she suddenly realizes have become core memories. “[This] song is really about realizing how much of your life is made up of things you didn’t think you’d lose—whether that’s people, places, or even versions of yourself,” she explains. “It’s a love letter to that feeling, and trying to hold onto it for just a little longer.”
The single’s lyric video cleverly positions the words she’s written in the present over various home-video clips of her childhood vocal performances and other more recent recordings of karaoke outings, all framed within the nostalgic imagery of a dated computer interface. Check it out below.
