Dani Taylor Shows Her Vulnerable Side on New Single “Man of Few Words”

When an artist kicks off their career, they always want to hit the ground running. With her debut single “Girl Most Likely,” Dani Taylor did just that. Released in late August, “Girl Most Likely” has quickly earned over 50,000 streams and gotten the Phoenix, Arizona native’s career rolling.

Admittedly feeling a myriad of emotions prior to the song’s release, Taylor says she is thankful for the response she’s gotten from her debut single, which has allowed her to see listeners connecting with the song.

“I was very nervous. I know that releasing a debut single is very hard and is a roller coaster of emotions. I have many friends who are artists as well, so I knew what to expect. It’s hard getting music out there as an independent artist in a world where your only presence can be found on social media or radio. I basically expected the worst and hoped for the best. I think it’s a healthy mindset, because expecting the best will only set yourself up for disappointment, while expecting the worse will set you up for being grateful for small milestones,” says Taylor. “It has meant a lot to me that without support from editorial playlists and no radio airplay, ‘Girl Most Likely’ was still able to amass that many plays. The most heartwarming response I saw was on TikTok. A girl made a video blind reacting to my song without ever having heard it, and her reaction to the lyrics made me so happy. Also, I found it sweet that a friend sent that to her as a way to uplift her. It made me very happy to see that someone was able to connect to my song and that it made them smile.”

For some artists though, a pressure to surpass initial success is only natural. With the release of her sophomore single “Man of Few Words” in early October, Taylor says she’s taking a different approach; relying on her confidence in the song and the way she has seen listeners connecting with it in a live setting.

“I don’t feel pressure about matching ‘Girl Most Likely’s’ success to ‘Man of Few Words.’ ‘Girl Most Likely’ was my introduction of who I am to country music. I have a lot of sides, emotions and stories to me. I feel as though the more music I put out, the more I will gain an audience from all walks of life to relate to through music,” says Taylor. “I have high hopes for ‘Man of Few Words.’ It is the only song I have ever sang live which makes a room go completely silent every time. I know it’s special. I have a feeling it will be a song that more people can relate to than ‘Girl Most Likely.’ Those are my hopes, but you never know these days. Sometimes your favorite song on an EP does the worst while your least favorite does the best. There is no way to tell. All I can do is put in hard work and hope for the best.”

After some initial conflict about which song should follow “Girl Most Likely,” Taylor says she chose “Man of Few Words” because it is different than anything she’s previously written and shows a side of her artistry that she has yet to showcase.

“I actually had a lot of conflict with deciding my next single. The reason I decided to release ‘Man of Few Words’ is because it shows my vulnerable side. It’s the only love song ballad I have ever written. I don’t really write ballads, nor do I write about love stories, probably because I am single and I tend to write about what’s happening in my life (entanglements, getting hurt dating). I wanted to release this song because it shows a side of me not many see,” says Taylor. “I am independent and some define me as a ‘manic pixie dream girl,’ but I have hopes and dreams of finding someone to love and settle down with one day. I am a paradox in a sense. I like my freedom but I do hold traditional values and dreams at the same time. I wanted to show this side of me because I can’t be put in a box. I may show confidence in my independence/singleness, but I dream of love and I hope to find a partner one day that can love me like this song.”

With her new single, Taylor says she took a different approach to songwriting; crafting a story based on in fantasy instead of reality.

“I was inspired by a country artist in Nashville who I saw perform live last year. He didn’t talk much on stage, but he captured the room with a quiet energy like I’ve never seen before. He was also handsome, but I could tell he was a quiet guy. I had written a hook in my ‘hook book’ for a while called ‘Man of Few Words,’ and I brought it up one day to my co-writers Will Rambeaux and Sherrie Austin, and Will blurted out immediately, ‘He’s a man of few words, but he saves the three best for me,’ and I said, ‘Sold!’” says Taylor. “ I had never dated a man of few words, so I decided to go based on pure imagination of what it would be like to date the artist I saw perform live a few weeks prior. It is the only song I have ever written out of pure imagination.”

Along with the release of “Man of Few Words,” Taylor says she plans to close her year focusing on building her social media presence as she prepares a new Christmas single and her debut EP.

“I plan to focus on social media engagement and releasing ‘Man of Few Words’ as well as releasing my special Christmas song called ‘Does It Snow In Nashville,’ which will be released November 6^th,” says Taylor. “Other than that, I will be focusing on filming some content for my EP release early next year.”