Songfacts®:

• In this song, Simone has been kissing strangers in an attempt to make her partner jealous. She told Songfacts the story behind it: "'Kissing Strangers' is inspired by one of my all-time favorite shows, New Girl. There is an on-again-off-again relationship between two of the main characters, and I ended up writing from the guy's point of view, who initiated one of their splits. The song is about messing up something that you wanted so bad, regretting it every second, and doing anything to get this person back. So you go out and try to make them jealous by kissing random people at parties. (Because somehow that's gonna make them fall in love with you again, right?)"
• Simone was just 16 when she released this song, which she wrote and recorded during the coronavirus quarantine. Growing up in New York City, she got her start in musical theater, appearing in a number of productions. She started writing an performing her own songs and grew a following on TikTok. "Kissing Strangers" is part of her first EP, Love Lessons.