Zelma Stone Channels the Faith and Grace of Familial Support on “Money Honey”

The new single is from her third EP “The Best,” out August 20. 
Zelma Stone Channels the Faith and Grace of Familial Support on “Money Honey”

The new single is from her third EP “The Best,” out August 20. 

Words: Margaret Farrell

photo by Andy Hoffman 

July 28, 2021

Aside from the whole “survival” thing, one of the most important parts of being a parent is believing in your kid. Whether it’s working in opposition to the bullies at school or our own inner voices telling us we’re not good enough, support systems are necessary to keep us going because being alive is pretty fucking wild. On her latest single as Zelma Stone “Money Honey,” Chloe Zelma Studebaker uses the supportive energy her mother graced her with when aging leads her into vexatious territory.

“Money Honey” showcases raw, somewhat hazy vocals while a shadow of synths hover in the background. Stone explains that the song’s inspiration came at an unexpected time. “I wrote most of this song at 2 a.m., which is a rare hour for me. I remember sitting with my guitar on the corner of my bed in a half-asleep state, but the lyrics that were flowing out made so much sense and I didn’t want to lose the moment.”

She continues, “My mom and I were very close, and I relied on her a lot for advice. The week I found out she was dying, I asked her out of desperation, ‘What am I going to do with my life? Can you tell me everything now that I need to do?’ She didn’t have much strength or words by then, but she took a big inhale and looked at me and said, ‘You’re wise.’ My mom also used to always say ‘fake it ’til you make it,’ and when I would come to her sad, she would say, ‘You are fine, you are OK.’ She would say it in a tough-love way, but also a gentle and sincere way that made me believe her.”

Unhurried guitar strums swim against Stone’s vocals as she manifests a better, brighter future. Later the track swells with greater distortion, her voice becoming rounder and seductively convincing. “‘Money Honey’ is a song where I’m telling myself that I’m fine and faking ’til I make it. This song means a lot to me because I feel it channels my mom’s fierce and powerful energy that I miss so much,” Stone says. On “Money Honey,” she has the world at her fingertips, while in the accompanying Twin Peaks–esque visual, Stone’s power manifests as a sufficient supply of Benjamins.

Zelma Stone’s third EP The Best—which you can pre-order here—is out August 20. Watch the video for “Money Honey” below.