On his deeply personal new single “By Your Side,” pop star Conor Maynard channels the frantic experience of watching a relationship come to an end that you so badly don’t want to let go of. “It’s getting so hard to breathe,” Maynard sings, “whatever happens keep hold of me.” The second in a series of singles inspired by an extremely difficult breakup he went through in the winter of 2022, “By Your Side” is Maynard’s message to his fans who reached out to him in the wake of the breakup and his disappearance from social media, as he took time to heel and reflect on his experience.
“I received a lot of messages when I came back online, from fans and even just people that related to the feeling of wanting to take a break from the pressures of social media,” Maynard recalls. “I realized just how many people have been through a similar notion, even when the circumstances that have led to that decision are different. For that reason, I kept the lyrics of ‘By Your Side’ a little more open, so it can be interpreted to fit all different types of relationship; romantic, friendships, family, and all different reasons for letting go, whether it be through just going your separate ways, or in the hardest of scenarios, death.”
“By Your Side” follows the release of Maynard’s previous single “If I Ever,” the first taste of a bold new slate of material that Maynard plans to release throughout 2023, loosely inspired by his breakup. Featuring fiercely personal songwriting and a new confidence found touring the world, the releases mark a creative turning point for Maynard, as he lets the abundant skills of his youth blossom and steer him into new directions of artistry and creativity. “If I Ever” was released alongside a music video, directed and produced by Maynard himself, exploring trust and suspicion in relationships and the different outcomes that they each can lead to.
