Beautiful & Brutal

Album: single release (2020)
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Songfacts®:

  • The title of this wrenching pop ballad describes the complex nature of love. Plested explained: "It's a song about the good and bad sides of love. It can feel so amazing and then hurt so much in the blink of an eye. I wanted it to sound raw, with a sense of excitement and euphoria, just like the real ups and downs."
  • The London-based singer-songwriter told Songfacts how the song came together: "I'd spent the week in the studio with my friend Koz. It was Friday and we just wanted to write a chill, stripped-down song. I got my other friend Lauren [Aquilina] in, who is incredible with that type of writing. We just spent the day sat 'round the piano, talking about love and how it's so easy yet so hard sometimes! We then wanted it to sound as 'film trailery' as possible, so Koz went hard on the drums and production and I fell in love with it immediately."
  • In the music video, Plested draws an image of a thorny rose, which represents both the beauty and brutality of love. The singer-songwriter attended art school at Central Saint Martins in London.
  • Alongside his solo career, Plested (real name Phil Plested) has co-written a number of hits for other artists, including "Before You Go" by Lewis Capaldi and "Touch" by Little Mix.

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