Loyal to Me

Album: The Sun Will Come Up, the Seasons Will Change (2018)
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Songfacts®:

  • Nina Nesbitt wrote this song with Fraser T Smith, whose other credits include Adele's US #1 hit "Set Fire To The Rain." She penned it for her best friend who was dating a guy who didn't have her best intentions at heart. She explained to Genius: "I think often when we like someone we can make excuses for their behaviour and be blinded to who they really are."
  • The song's throwback sound was inspired by '90/'00s R&B music artists that Nesbitt loves such as Destiny's Child, TLC and Lauryn Hill.
  • "Loyal to Me" was originally titled "Two Steps Back" and the pre-chorus was once the hook.
  • The song's music video finds Nesbitt playing a ballet dancer, which found her out of her comfort zone. "Apart from a few ballet exercises when I was a gymnast, dance is something I've NEVER done (probably for a good reason) but something I've always admired in pop divas growing up. I thought this was the perfect moment to try it," she explained. "Ballet is something that is beautiful and feminine but also painful and extremely difficult. I like how double sided it is - it can look vulnerable but still be one of the toughest things out there."

    Nesbitt added: "Loyal To Me is about girls talking to girls, giving advice and it has a sort of throwback vibe to it. I felt like the video related to the song in terms of having the beautiful moments in a relationship but also the pain of someone cheating."
  • After Nina Nesbitt's debut album, Peroxide, had disappointing sales, she was dropped by her label and was shelved for a couple of years, so she wasn't able to put out any new music. Nesbitt started writing for other artists and "Loyal to Me" was written with Little Mix in mind. She told The Sun: "I wanted to pitch it to them and hear a girl band singing it. That's why it sounds so different."
  • Fraser T Smith came on board when Nesbitt was already working on The Sun Will Come Up record. She told OfficialCharts.com that he rescued "Loyal to Me" as the singer was "just about put the song in the bin" as she couldn't find the right production.
  • Nina Nesbitt references revenge porn during the song.

    Hope you never let those pictures send
    He'll only go show them to his friends


    She explained the lyric to the BBC: "I worry about teenagers on Snapchat. Kids at schools send round these intimate pictures, then people use them as revenge. You've got to be careful out there."

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