Sunshine Coast artist Cry Baby is on a mission to make it cool to cry, using music as a cathartic tool to change outdated social attitudes.
The solo project of singer-songwriter Rebekah Winnett, Cry Baby arrived on the scene with her self-titled debut single in late 2020. Turning the phrase ‘to wear your heart on your sleeve’ into a reality, Rebekah brings her alt-pop gems to life with the help of her brother and producer, Judah Winnett.
Unable to recall a time when she didn’t dream about being a musician, Rebekah says growing up she loved to sing and dance in her room to her favourite songs on repeat – something she’d been doing since infancy.
“When I was still young enough to be in a crib, Mum would play cassettes by artists like Steve Miller and Cat Stevens to help me fall asleep,” said the songstress. “One night Don Francisco’s It’s Your Own Fault, must have caught my interest as I somehow got close enough to the dresser (where the cassette player was), manoeuvred up the crib barricade, figured out how to rewind the tape player and played it on repeat.”
From these earliest memories, a passion for music sprung with Rebekah deciding to pursue her own career in music, a path she admits has not always been an easy one.
“In the tail end of 2018 I was living in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley, playing gigs, busking, and working at a pub. Living in a studio apartment in the centre of the city started to take a toll on my mental health and after my first real long-term relationship had ended, I needed to feel at home again.”
Her decision to move to her family’s home on the Sunshine Coast was a twofold win, allowing for more time with family and the opportunity to work in the new recording studio her brother had built. It was here, back home, that her vision for Cry Baby was able to take off.
While her debut single last year was all about owning her insecurities and showing the world so-called ‘weaknesses’ can actually be pretty suave superpowers, 2021 sees Rebekah continuing to fly the feel-your-feelings flag high on her anti-Valentines follow-up single Best Of Luck.
“This song is about that moment when you realise your mental health and happiness is way more important than the love you feel for someone, so you choose to walk on by and wish them luck.”
“Girls are conditioned to believe that someone wanting and loving us is the be all and end all, so we tend to lose ourselves in the other person and hang on too long! It can be really hard, but it’s empowering to choose yourself and leave the relationship.”
There’s also more poignant life-lessons-turned-into-songs yet to come with a debut EP full of “sad yet cool AF bops” on the horizon.
“These songs will make you feel like you can cry and dance…and not care who’s watching.”
In a world obsessed with perfection and filtered social media “realities,” Cry Baby’s honest representation of raw, universal emotions is the antidote society needs.
Listen to Cry Baby’s latest single ‘Best Of Luck’ (below) and follow her on Facebook and Instagram to find out more.
‘BEST OF LUCK’ – CRY BABY
Feature image: Cry Baby by Cindy Vogels
Article co-writer: Sarah Bellamy
