Singer-songwriter sorrycarlee, the artist project of Carlee Chappell, is out with her new single “Intimacy,” a deeply personal song about wanting closeness while simultaneously pushing it away.
At the heart of the record is a difficult emotional contradiction. “Intimacy” captures the experience of wanting someone to pull you closer while creating distance at the same time. It explores the tension between feeling like you are simultaneously “too much” and “not enough” for love, as well as the fear that can come with allowing yourself to be vulnerable.
Rather than presenting heartbreak in simple terms, sorrycarlee focuses on the complicated behaviour that can emerge when someone is struggling emotionally. The song examines self-sabotage, uncertainty and the difficulty of communicating feelings when vulnerability does not come naturally.
That emotional honesty has become an important part of sorrycarlee’s songwriting identity. Her music functions almost like an open diary, transforming experiences of heartbreak and self-discovery into confessional pop songs that give listeners a space to recognise their own emotions.
For Carlee Chappell, becoming a songwriter was itself an unexpected departure from the life she had carefully planned.
Before pursuing music professionally, she appeared to be following a conventional path toward psychology. She earned straight A’s, participated in extracurricular activities, attended a prestigious university and completed a degree in English and Psychology, with plans to continue toward a PhD in psychology.
Logic had always been a major influence on her decisions. But eventually, Chappell found herself confronted by a different possibility, one that had been present since childhood. Beneath the posters of Hannah Montana, Taylor Swift and Hilary Duff was a younger version of Carlee who had always wanted to write songs. That childhood ambition had been pushed aside in favour of a more logical career path, until a moment of uncertainty prompted her to reconsider what she actually wanted.
Choosing songwriting meant taking a chance on a dream she had previously left behind. Before launching fully into her own artist project, Chappell found early success as a songwriter through collaborations with artists including Maddie Zahm, co-writing “You Might Not Like Her,” as well as Francis Karel’s “You’re Too Close” and Abigail Barlow’s “Strike Out.”
Now, as sorrycarlee, she is turning that songwriting experience toward her own story.
“Intimacy” is a particularly revealing example of that approach. The song does not attempt to make vulnerability look easy. Instead, it acknowledges how complicated it can be to want connection while being afraid of what comes with letting another person get close.
That contradiction gives the song its emotional weight. There is a desire for love, but also an instinct to protect oneself from the possibility of being hurt. The result is what sorrycarlee describes as one of the most quietly devastating songs she has written. Her music balances that emotional honesty with pop songwriting and memorable hooks, creating a style that allows serious themes to exist alongside an accessible, upbeat sensibility.
For an artist who once expected her future to involve psychology, songwriting has become another way of understanding people and the emotions that shape their behaviour. Instead of analysing those experiences from the outside, sorrycarlee puts them directly into songs.
“Intimacy” therefore feels like more than a song about a complicated relationship. It is also a reflection of the artist’s willingness to examine her own contradictions and turn them into something listeners can connect with.
After years of following what seemed like the logical path, Carlee Chappell is now pursuing the childhood “what if” she once left behind. As sorrycarlee, she is proving that sometimes the most meaningful direction is the one that asks you to abandon the plan and finally listen to yourself.
