Lauren Scott-Phillips has finally become the person she’s always wanted to be. With her excellent new single, «Handsome Woman», the Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter steps firmly into her next chapter, not only as an artist but as a lesbian, woman, wife, and new mother.
«When I started out as an artist, I didn’t really know what I wanted», says Scott-Phillips. «But over the past few years, I feel like I’m really growing into myself, really turning into the woman I want to be. I’m the happiest I’ve ever been, and I wanted this song to kind of identify who I am at this moment».
«Handsome Woman» finds Scott-Phillips penning a loving ode to her wife while subtly challenging the traditional language used to describe femininity, a lyrical focus whose inspiration she credits to her wife. «My wife is very feminine, and I’m pretty feminine too, but I have some masculine traits, and I really just didn’t know how I wanted to be described», says Scott-Phillips. «I just want to normalise the idea that whoever you want to be, that’s who you should be».
The new single opens with softly plucked acoustic guitar and Scott-Phillips’ beautifully expressive vocals, the stripped-down instrumentation allowing Scott-Phillips’ romantic lyricism to shine and riding on the strength of her songwriting abilities. The single was produced by Elliott Beenk (ELPENTHE), the third of four collaborations between the artist and producer, who were initially connected after both working with Grammy Award nominated producer Brian West (Nelly Furtado, Andy Grammer, Maroon 5).
«When I brought the song over to Elliott, it was just special», says Scott-Phillips. «We didn’t want to build too much on it, but just make it as pretty as we can with just a guitar and let the lyrics speak for themselves. I like working with producers who put their own flair on songs, and working with Elliott is great because he’s so good at that and I know it’ll always sound great».
The accompanying visuals for «Handsome Woman» beautifully heighten the song’s lyrical intimacy. Directed by Aron Meinhardt, the video features footage of private moments between Scott-Phillips and her wife—at eight months pregnant—capturing the love and companionship of a new family that inspired Scott-Phillips to write the track. «I wanted the video to be really authentically LGBTQ-focused, because that’s just who I am», says Scott-Phillips. «If you’re an artist and you’re writing about your life, I think it’s important to really broadcast who you are».
After a decade in Los Angeles, working with high-profile producers, taking meetings with publishing companies, and generally playing the traditional music industry game, Scott-Phillips has carved out a lane where her contentment in her personal life and artistic life inform one another, removing the artistic barriers that come along with a need for external approval, and allowing for a greater expression of authenticity in her songwriting.
«I’ve gotten to a point in my personal life where I feel so fulfilled, so when it comes to music it’s like, people are either going to like it or they’re not, and that’s fine», says Scott-Phillips. «When I started out, like a lot of people, I was trying to be strategic and work with people because I thought it would help me work with other people. Now I don’t really care if any of that happens. I just want to write songs, work with people I like, and when I go to bed at night be able to think, ‘That was a great day, I love my life».