Buzz Blog

If you’ve been on the internet in any capacity the last few months, there’s a good chance you’ve come across the song “if i were a fish” by singer/songwriter corook. They wrote the now viral song with their girlfriend Olivia Barton in about 10 minutes, coming from feelings of insecurity and feeling out of place, especially on the internet where people can be particularly cruel. “if i were a fish” quickly climbed to millions of views on the initial TikTok, and now has millions of streams after corook and Barton officially recorded it and put it out on streaming platforms.

“It’s definitely changed my career and changed my life a lot,” corook said of the song. "Really what it showed me is that there’s a lot of people that feel similarly about the internet, and about how hard it is to exist on there, and to be constantly comparing ourselves and have mean people come out of nowhere. It’s a hard place to exist, but I think it’s really wonderful, but that song kind of brought us all together to heal and relate on that front.”

While “if i were a fish” is a beautiful and joyful song that people love, corook is hoping this extensive tour will help put a face to the person behind the music. “I feel like my introduction to most people is through the internet and through the phone,” they said. “While that is pretty normal, I don’t totally love that that’s the only impression I’ve made on people. I’m hoping that these shows kind of give a face to the name and an actual human being standing in front of them might just show that I’m a real person, and maybe connect to me more and connect to the music more.”

It will be easy for the singer/songwriter to connect with listeners with the new music that’s been coming out leading up to and during the tour. The artist's June release, serious person (part 1), is the first of two EPs that take a deep dive into who corook is. “This project is a collection of feelings and stories that have made me the weird, queer, funny, sensitive, serious person I am,” they said.

“I chose to call the album serious person to comment on the humor I use in my songs. I have used humor to mask a lot of insecurities and hardships in my life and while humor will always be a part of my writing style and my life in general, I wanted to show all the other parts of myself too. It’s sprinkled with upbeat pop tunes, but at its core it is my story accompanied by whatever instrument I chose that day.”

The songs mean a lot to corook, and they say it’s some of their favorite work so far as an artist. “I think I’m finally in a place where I’m sharing more of my actual story, and that feels really good to do and really vulnerable, and it feels nice that the people that come to these shows are so ready to not only have a good time, but to listen to my story and to connect to it.”

Serious person (part 2) is out now, and is the “wacky second sibling” to the first EP. “I kind of let my freak flag fly a little bit, which I love. It’s kind of sticking to those serious topics of self-discovery, and all of that while using just a funner tone and a more energetic tone. It was a lot of fun to make and I’m excited for it to be out,” they said.

This isn’t the first time corook has stopped by SLC, and the last time they were here, very poignant memories were made. “The first time we came out of the show and we were like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m so tired, we got to get to sleep,’ and got to the parking lot and it was the biggest snowstorm ever,” they recalled. “Then we turned on the car and our windshield wiper just flew off of the car. The entire thing. It wasn’t even just the wiper, it was the entire handle of it flew off of the car.”

Their group got stranded a bit while here, but ultimately it created a great bond and a great story to tell about their experience in the Beehive State. “Salt Lake definitely has a really big place in our hearts and a place in our story,” they added.

Luckily, likely snow won’t be on the list of potential hazards during a September visit. Come out and see corook at Soundwell on Wednesday, Sept 27 at 7 p.m. Tickets for the all-ages show are $20 and can be found at soundwellslc.com.

Expect to have a great time at the show, corook is definitely excited to share their new music with everyone. “You will probably laugh, you will probably cry ... and bring your dancing shoes,” they said.