Brynn Elliott is a singer-songwriter currently based in Nashville. After taking a two-year break from music, she released a new song called “Shiny Happy People” in October.

PEER: Did you always know that you wanted to pursue music as a career?

BRYNN ELLIOTT: I didn’t. But I always was around music. I was always singing while growing up, when I was a kid, and it was when I got into college that I realized that I was writing all these songs, and I wanted to put them out into the world. So, I started doing that and it just happened by accident, really. But it’s been a wonderful journey so far.

P: Who are your musical influences?

BE: Oh, goodness. I listened to a lot of pop artists—a lot of girl pop. I was listening to a lot of Kelly Clarkson and Avril Lavigne. My dad really loved rock music, so he introduced me to some of his favorite bands, like U2. He even loved Coldplay, so I grew up listening to a confluence of those two types of music.

P: What inspires you when you’re writing songs?

BE: I think when I write songs, I really am inspired by things that I’m reading or watching—books, documentaries, any kind of media, even sometimes paintings. I just love movies. I love watching something or reading something, and being inspired and then going and turning it into a song. So, I do that with most of my music, even if it’s not quite apparent. That’s really my moment of inspiration.

P: How has your faith and journey with God influenced your songwriting? Particularly your song, “Shiny Happy People.” Can you talk about what inspired you to write that song?

BE: My faith, I think, has always inspired me to write music. I feel very close to God when I am writing, performing, and singing with other people, which I think is a very common experience for a lot of people. This song that’s coming out is the first song where I’m very clearly talking about my faith and talking about who I am as a Christian—I am excited about that. I’ve never been so explicit about it that here I am, I am a Christian, and this is what I’m going through. I think my journey with grief is that my dad passed away in 2021. Death has a way of just bringing things out on the table and making everything very clear even if just for a moment. I think there was a moment where I realized I really just wanted to, just in my own life, grow deeper in my faith and understand what Christianity has to say about grief and death. That’s really where this song came from: that journey I was on.

P: The song talks about your grief. How has your faith helped you process that grief in 2021 and then now in 2024?

BE: I was actually so surprised about how in that moment I really clung to my faith and clung to something I grew up with. I grew up as a Christian. But it was like when my dad died, this is a weird way to say it, but it’s like, I was training for this moment in the sense of there’s so much that our faith has to say about death and about grief. I was struck by Jesus and how Jesus really does not shy away from these topics, from these really difficult topics. We celebrate Jesus’ resurrection every Easter, but we also take a really big moment on Good Friday and contemplate death. That’s really heavy, but I was just so encouraged that there’s a space for this in my faith to really talk about these questions.

P: What advice do you have for the young Christians who maybe grieving right now?

BE: My advice would be, it sounds simple, but just to really allow yourself to grieve. And I know that it’s a very Christian thing to do. In the second verse of this song, I talk about the passage in Scripture where Jesus weeps for his friend Lazarus. I think that my advice would just be follow Jesus’ example. If you need to cry, it’s okay. It’s okay to not have to put on this really shiny happy face. There’s space for us to be sad as Christians.

P: You mentioned that your musical influences are more pop and rock and you’ve written songs that are less Christian. Do you have any plans to write more Christian and faith-based songs that are heavily influenced by your faith? Or do you write on a broad range of topics?

BE: I think it’ll always be a broad range, but I think it’s so exciting for me to be able to put out this song and say, “Hey, I’m a Christian and that’s my identity.” As an artist, I think it’s really fulfilling to step into that. So yes, I think from this day forward, I will be writing about my faith as those topics come up as I read and learn and grow as a Christian. I’m really inspired by hymns right now, old hymns, and learning about the Christians who wrote these hymns. I have maybe an idea of doing something with old hymns and maybe writing some new hymns. Those are ideas that are brewing for 2025, but I’m really excited about it.

P: A lot of aspiring musicians read Peer. What advice would you give to them?

BE: What advice would I give? I would say with being a musician in this current time, there’s a lot of desire or a need for online promotion, which is so wonderful because it connects us, and it gives us a space to put out our music and connect our music with people that really want to hear new music. I think at the same time; my experience has been that it can be really overwhelming to be constantly creating content to put online. Don’t be afraid to take some time and make sure that your content is coming from a place of joy and life-giving. Because it can get kind of like a hamster on a wheel where you’re just producing, producing, producing all this content, and then you lose yourself and all of that. It’s okay to take breaks from social media as needed. All of the people who will be hearing your music on TikTok or whatever, they will still be there after your break.

P: How do you practice self-care?

BE: As of late, I have been reading a lot. I love a good television show, let me tell you. But I’ve challenged myself to be off screens more. I’ve been filling the time that I would be watching TV with reading—reading anything and that has been so calming. I already love to read, but I’ve been trying to do it a little bit more and it’s been really wonderful.

P: What are you currently listening to?

BE: Oh goodness, so many things. Music? Snow Patrol just put out an album that’s gorgeous. I love their music. Podcasts? I love “The Bible Project.” I listen to that weekly.

P: What’s a Bible verse that’s been on your heart recently?

BE: I think it’s simple but it is John 11:35, “Jesus wept.” I was reading the verses after it and it’s talking about Jesus weeping and starting to cry for his friend Lazarus. Then it says the people around him in that moment realized that this is coming from a place of deep love. That’s been very encouraging to me to know that Jesus lived this life of deep love for His friends and as Christians we get to do the same for our friends and our family.

To stay up-to-date on new music from Brynn, follow her on Instagram @brynnelliott.