Mikky Ekko laments the cost of success in the spotlight in his tender new single ‘Fame’. Throughout the gentle, purposeful pace of this piano-ballad, you can feel the intensity of this artist’s eventual realisation of this price through contrasting statements, such as “better learn to kill the ones who hold you back, / oh-oh-oh what a beautiful world it is.” With the repetition of “hallelujah”, we’re led to consider the almost religious idolisation of celebrities, the levels we go to to covet fame, and the potentially darker truth behind the screams and shouts of praise. For example, one of Mikky Ekko’s first lines, “it’s a love so savage, where all of your prayers go to waste,” taps into a more honest perspective of the fame machine. The video also is beautifully shot and unflinchingly brutal portrayal of the mental, physical and emotional toll that this endless searching for a moment in the limelight may bring. Speaking about the time that ‘Fame’ was written, the Nashville musician recalls: “FAME is deeply personal for me. I was in a strange place, emotionally, when we (Justin Parker and I) were writing. Looking back FAME was a real moment of clarity for me.” - Hannah Thacker