PREMIERE: Theresa Rex releases new song 'Ugly Cry': "I am an imperfect person so making music inspired by myself will naturally be about a messy girl, stumbling through life."

Image: Theresa Rex
Published: 22 August 2024

Danish singer-songwriter Theresa Rex releases her new single ‘Ugly Cry’ on Friday and today you can listen to it exclusively on Women In Pop. It is her first solo release since the single ‘Bad Blood’ back in January.

Written by Rex with Jacob Buchardt, who also produced it, ‘Ugly Cry’ is a deliciously pared back pop track with Rex’s singular vocals pushed to the forefront thanks to minimalist electronic beats and acoustic guitar

Rex calls the song a “messy girl anthem” and like all her songs, the lyrics are insightful and honest, focusing on aspects of human nature that aren’t perhaps glossy or perfect, but are there none the less. “Well look who’s talking, it’s the liquor…If you want smoke then I’ll deliver / Can’t shut my mouth," she sings.

“I think most of us know that feeling of getting drunk and reaching that point of no return, where the lid just flips and the valves open, and you become an over-sharing, over-emotional, ugly-crying fool, sitting there on the bar bathroom floor asking your friends to hold your hair, do we not?” Rex says. “Well, if you do, this might be the messy-girl anthem for you. Sometimes all you need to do is cry until the whole damn place is stuck under water.”

Rex is an independent artist with an astonishing billion streams to her name. The voice behind international hits ‘Solo Dance’ by Martin Jensen and Jonas Blues’ ‘What I Like About You’, she is famous for her collaborations but has had just as much success with her solo music with singles like ‘Wild Ones’ ‘Like I Love You’ and ‘Mama’s Boy’ streaming in the millions. Her music hits all the right spots, with infectious melodies and beats plus lyrics that are infinitely relatable as well as an expressive voice that infinitely listenable in any genre. ‘Ugly Cry’ is the latest pop triumph for Rex, listen to it below now exclusively on Women In Pop before its general release tomorrow, and underneath read our interview with Rex as she talks about the creation of ‘Ugly Cry’.

Hi Theresa! It’s so good to chat to you again, thank you for your time. How is everything in your world right now?
Other than the world in general being a dumpster fire, my little corner of it is good at the moment, I'm really enjoying my pets and my partner and the summer. And these next couple of months I am traveling for songwriting purposes to a few of my bucket list destinations which I can't believe. So I am beyond excited!

Your new single ‘Ugly Cry’ is out this Friday, congratulations it is another brilliant song! Tell me a little about the inspiration behind this song.
Yaaa thank you, i'm so glad you like it. Im a very emotional person, but I keep it bottled up most of the time. But alcohol has that effect right? I suppose that most of us knows that feeling of getting drunk and reaching that point of no return, where the lid just flips and the valves open, and you become an over-sharing, over-emotional, ugly-crying fool, sitting there on the bar bathroom floor asking your friends to hold your hair. It definitely happened to me, especially when I was younger, but I’d go out anyway, always knowing that disaster was just around the corner. The feelings just wanted to come out!

What was the creative process like for ‘Ugly Cry’?
I had met this really talented young producer called Jacob Buchardt in a camp, and I really liked working with him. He is a great collaborator and doesnt mind me backseat driving, or touching buttons and comping vocals. So I invited him to my studio in Aarhus. I had the idea and the title in my diary already, Jacob came up with the vibe and we wrote and recorded the song within a couple of hours. The really good songs have a tendency to just flow out, and not be too hard to write.

You have said this is a ‘messy girl anthem’ and I love how your music explores and celebrates the less polished side of human nature that everyone has, your last single ‘Bad Blood’ was another great example of this. Is exploring these almost taboo topics in your music - jealousy, bitterness, having an ‘ugly cry’ breakdown - important to you?
I am definitely an imperfect person, and my life has not always been easy, so making music inspired by myself and my inner workings will naturally be about a messy girl, stumbling through life. But I’m so fine with that, I think messy people are the most interesting anyway. We have great stories and I think it adds charm and to just be a real person.

I also love that you have leant into this vibe on the images for ‘Ugly Cry’, such brilliant photos. What was that photoshoot like?
Hah, thank you! I wanted it to look a bit like 90’s glam shots, and I love how they turned out. But I’m DIY- ing so hard these days! I bought a background roll and a light setup and took the photos myself in my living room, while my dog was throwing side-eye from the sofa. I even mounted the background roll to the ceiling of my living room, and it's now a permanent fixture.

When was your last ‘ugly cry’?
I went to a bar with my sister a few weeks back. And we ended up just talking until the sun came up. Talking about life, and laughing. She is one of my favorite people so that was a good one!

You have been releasing music now since 2016 when you sung on ‘Solo Dance’. How do you think you have progressed, or changed as an artist during this time?
Yeah, I have been at it for quite a while now, and it has been a journey. I have gotten the opportunity to write with and for so many amazing artists. It's a strange industry sometimes but it has taught me so much about myself as a person but also as an artist, especially this last year I have really been working on and rethinking my own project and I am at a place right now, where I just loooove the music that I am making. I have gone fully independent and this is the first single on my very own label, and it’s nerve wracking but it feels so right. Making my own moves and being my own boss means less doubt and more drive.

‘Ugly Cry’ is out on Friday, what else is coming up for you in 2024?
I have a whole line up of the coolest things coming out these next few months. September I have a collab with this fierce rapper/ producer called Kinck that I am super excited about. And I'm doing an open call looking for a remix of any genre for ‘Ugly Cry’ so if any producers are reading this and want to join in, keep an eye on my Instagram and I will drop the details.

‘Ugly Cry’ will be released on 23 August. You can pre-save now.
Follow Theresa Rex on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.
Read our four page interview with Theresa Rex in issue 7 of Women In Pop magazine.