‘My Body’s My Buddy (gender neutral version)’ - an empowering anthem by Tessa Violet, Brye and Corook
Last summer, the American indie-popstar Tessa Violet and viral self-empowerment artist Brye teamed up to create the ultimate acoustic anthem of body positivity.
Originally released on August 23rd, My Body’s My Buddy teaches listeners that there is power in letting your body be free, a message that is accompanied by the duo’s stunning vocals and impassioned instrumentals. But this was not enough, so welcome in Nashville-based singer-songwriter Corook (they/them) to round out this musical trio for the definitive iteration of My Body’s My Buddy (gender neutral version), released December 13th of last year.
Known for their raw and relatable lyricism that resonates deeply with listeners, this latest remix amplifies the single’s message of inclusion, self-acceptance and body positivity for the trio’s non-binary audiences.
Tessa (she/her) shared, “When I released My Body’s My Buddy, my fans asked for a gender neutral version - I was SO down and immediately thought of asking corook to jump on as the feature! I had been listening to their song Emergency Contact a lot over the summer and I love all the new things they're putting out. When I brought the idea up to Brye (she/her), she told me corook also had a viral song centered around body positivity, called If I Were A Fish! I didn’t realize they were the same person and I love how full circle that feels. I love what Corinne’s voice brings to the song and feel very honoured they were willing to sing on it!”
The original concept behind My Body’s My Buddy started when Tessa initiated an exercise where you write letters from the perspective of your body to yourself, take a break and then write a letter from yourself to your body.
She explained: “The thing that came up for me was the idea that my body is my friend, my companion. People will come and go throughout my life but my body will always be with me. My body is my lifelong companion - through joy and pain my body is with me. My body is also feeling what I'm feeling; it’s not against me, it’s for me.”
A feel-good melody with sparkling acoustic instrumentation and tender lyrics, Tessa added: “One of my friends who is nonbinary shared from their letter the feeling of being disconnected from their body but now feeling inspired. They said this thing - ‘I’m coming to find you’. I feel like in that moment I saw them as a knight on a horseback, looking back on this great expanse of the journey they were walking through with their body. I tell this story in the bridge and it’s so great that Corook gets to sing that.”
Beginning with softly strummed guitar chords that imitate the sound of a dove’s wings in flight, the track details Tessa Violet’s relationship with her own body. “I know what I need, I jump in the sea, no more regrets, Ietting my body be free,” she sings at the beginning of the song, decidedly putting any past feelings behind her to form a new union with her own body - a friendship.
Brye joins Tessa Violet on the chorus, merging their vocals on an heartfelt call to know, see and love your own body “through the joy and the pain”. In the end, they have been with their bodies, as they sing, “from my birth to my grave, every step I’ve taken”, so after all that, why not take your body with you and loved them all the same?
In Tessa’s own words, she’s “trying something where instead of thinking of my body as myself, I think of it as its own being that I am in a relationship with. I came to this idea while doing an exercise where you write a letter from the perspective of your body to you.”
More of a love letter than anything, Tessa Violet and Brye’s heartfelt but simple lyrics hold the song together, exhibiting a thesis on how we should all aspire to love our bodies.
In this new version of the track, Corook is a welcome addition - and not only are the original pronouns of the lyrics altered from she/her to they/them throughout the song - but Corook joins with a solo rendition of the bridge before singing side by side with Tessa and Brye on the final chorus.
An inclusion that’s a lovely nod to the importance of queer identity when thinking about the importance of our bodies, My Body’s My Buddy (gender neutral version) by Tessa Violet, Brye and Corook is a soft and poignant love letter to the very bodies that we take with us every day - and a reminder that your body can be your best friend, too.
As always, you can follow Tessa, Brye and Corook on Instagram to keep up with their future releases - and make sure to listen to Tessa Violet’s music on Spotify: