Hannah Hokit Doubles Down on Acoustic, Singer-Songwriter Sound with New Single “The Day I Stop Loving You”

Hannah Hokit was left with a lot of unexpected down time in 2020, and for an artist who was just months removed from the release of her debut EP, that down time couldn’t have come at a worse time.

However, instead of kicking back and sitting idle until the world got back to some semblance of normalcy, Hokit was experimenting; experimenting with her sounds, ideas, and even her genre identity, all in an effort to hone in on the artist she wanted to be. The result? Her single, “Two Left Feet,” an undeniably catchy tune that served as the introduction to the sound Hokit gravitated towards, which she says gave her back a bit of that normalcy.

“Prior to the release of ‘Two Left Feet,’ the quarantine started. For a lot of musicians, the only thing we knew to do was write about it, so I wrote a lot of new songs and experimented with different ideas, and even genres. At this point, it felt like there was nothing to lose. The world was shut down, all shows were cancelled, and getting into the studio (which I had planned to do in March 2020) was completely on hold, so why not try something new?” says Hokit. “Eventually, I landed on this super relaxed, acoustic, singer-songwriter vibe. It’s kind of hard to explain, but these songs that I was writing made me feel ‘back to normal’ in this crazy, uncertain time, and gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. I held on to that simplicity in the studio and created this mood that I think really represents me and my personality: fun, flirty, raw, imaginative and full of depth.”

To kick off 2021, Hokit is back with a new single, “The Day I Stop Loving You,” which not only doubles down on the sound she introduced with “Two Left Feet,” but doubles down on its singalong chorus as well. After posting a snippet of her newest single on social media, Hokit says she knew it had to be her next release.

“I had put up a snippet of me singing ‘The Day I Stop Loving You’ on social media and people seemed to really connect with it. That solidified my idea to record it for my upcoming project. Then when we were in the studio, I got goosebumps when my engineer played the song back for me, so I knew it was really special, and at that moment, I decided it would be the second single,” says Hokit. “The sequence of single releases or the order of album tracks is definitely something I think about. You can tell a completely different narrative just by putting songs in a different order, so I try to be attentive and recognize the story I want to tell through my releases, but also not overthink it.”

It’s said inspiration can hit at the strangest times, which was certainly true for Hokit with “The Day I Stop Loving You,” coming together in the middle of a sad song jam session in her car.

“I was driving home one day, totally consumed by a fall out I’d just had with a guy. It was very sudden and unexpected, and I felt completely defeated,” says Hokit. “I remember I was blasting sad songs (go figure), and ‘Cold Day in July’ by The Chicks came on. It sparked the idea that is now ‘The Day I Stop Loving You,’ and I wrote the chorus in the car as I was driving home.”

With more new music on the horizon, Hokit says listeners can expect more of the same sonically on her forthcoming sophomore EP.

“I do have more music on the way very soon. I have recorded an EP with six songs, including ‘Two Left Feet’ and ‘The Day I Stop Loving You.’ Nothing is set in stone, but I plan to release one more single, with the EP to follow shortly after,” says Hokit. “These songs are all very much like what my listeners have heard from my last two singles. They’re very stripped down, but don’t lack energy or passion. They’re about me navigating through not only romances, but also friendships and coming into my 20s.”

As she looks forward to her new releases, Hokit says she plans to keep her creative juices flowing this year and investing her newfound free time into her artistry.

“Hopefully, for everyone’s sake, things can get back to normal just a bit. This is the first time that I haven’t been a full time student, so I’m excited to spend as much time as I possibly can focusing on my music and building it up to what I know it’s capable of,” says Hokit. “I want to play as many shows as the good Lord will let me and write as many songs as my mind can craft. I’m extremely proud of the music I’ve been writing lately, so I hope to keep up the momentum.”