Q&A: Mercer Henderson Shares How A Friendship Breakup Inspired Her Second Single “Strangers”

Q&AMusic

Jul 15

☆ BY Sophia Garcia ☆

FRESH OFF HER FIRST YEAR AT NYU — Mercer Henderson, released her second single, “Strangers.” Making its debut on June 23, “Strangers” tells the story of a friendship breakup — arguably the worst kind of breakup — and was born from a conversation with the singer-songwriter’s friends on how relationships change. Immediately inspiring her, the lyrics to her single flowed from Mercer, and over the next months she worked on getting it produced. Now, a few months later, “Strangers” is released on all platforms, just surpassed 300,000 streams on Spotify over just the last few weeks.

“Strangers'' is soft and catchy; it’s an instantly relatable song with honest lyrics. Mercer’s effortless vocals and the drop of the chorus tickle something in your brain that can’t help but make you want to listen to the song on repeat. Produced perfectly, the song is classic bedroom pop and is reminiscent of artists such as Gracie Abrams and Lizzy McApline, both of whom are inspirations of Mercer’s.

But this isn’t the San Francisco native’s first release. Mercer released “Fool” earlier this year, a jazzier song with heavier vocals — a hint at the range in Mercer’s voice — and first began writing music at the age of 13. Now, at only 19, Mercer has big plans for what's next for her, and if what she’s already released is any indication, Mercer's goals are close in reach.

Read below to learn more about the story behind “Strangers” and what’s next for Mercer.

LUNA: First, congrats on the release of your second single! Can you talk me through what inspired you to write this song?

MERCER: Thank you so much. I am so grateful for all the support this song has received and the relationship stories people are sharing. I was inspired to write this song based on a true story — I experienced a friendship breakup, as many people do, and elements of that experience, including the spilling of red wine, were things I incorporated into the lyrics.

LUNA: Lyrically, which lyrics from “Strangers” do you feel most proud of?

MERCER: I am most proud of the journey this song takes you on, including the realization that the friendship has changed and that hope lingers for things to go back to how they were, like how the bridge states, “just want to go back to the good old days.” My favorite lyrics have to be “shirt stained with red wine, can we go to august back in time,” primarily because I feel as though that creates imagery and specificity that the listeners can relate to.

LUNA: How does this song make you feel?

MERCER: A bit nostalgic, actually. It helps me reflect on all the great friendships and relationships I have had in my life, as well as those relationships that had special moments even though they faded over time. One of the most meaningful things coming from “Strangers” is that people are DM-ing that they sent the song to an ex-friend and it helped heal their relationship.

LUNA: Can you talk me through the process of writing and producing “Strangers”?

MERCER: Sure. The song originated from a group discussion with my best friends, talking about how our relationships had shifted throughout the year. Since all of us are artists, of course, we decided that this was a perfect opportunity to write a song. After hours of going back and forth, pitching in lyrics, and writing melodies, a rough “Strangers” was born. I then went back and made changes to make the song more catchy and spent hours deciding how I wanted to tell this story. Regarding the production, I have a wonderful friend/producer, Lucas Sim, who is my biggest collaborator. He produced the original bounce. Then, I was lucky enough to get introduced to other industry producers who added more elements to create the final version you hear today.

LUNA: Your cover art is of you at a NY Metro station — what inspired this cover art?

MERCER: When searching Pinterest for cover art ideas, I realized I wanted to shoot the final image on film. I loved the way shooting on film makes it look more nostalgic, which is tied to the feeling the song captures. Shooting in the subway station imagery captures that notion of being close to people but not knowing who they are even though you may see them every day, in this case, on the train. You know, “strangers” all around.

LUNA: Your first single, “Fool,” had beautiful jazzy undertones while “Strangers” feels more bedroom pop. What kind of genres inspire your music and would you say you are still exploring your sound?

MERCER: Thank you for mentioning “Fool.” I am very proud of the vocal complexity and that song. Fun fact, many of the instruments were vocals. I really enjoy making songs that are not totally predictable. “Fool” tells a story but not in a typical singer-songwriter lane, meaning that the instrumentation is also used to tell the story. “Strangers” definitely fits bedroom pop and the vibe of TikTok, which is such a critical audience. It taps into everyday emotions and occurrences, which builds into an almost anthem-like chorus. Regarding “my sound,” I have been working on a lot of new music, some of which will be surprising because it fuses genres (which makes it hard to check the boxes music distributors provide). I think that is who I am as an artist, undefined by industry categories but relatable to wide audiences.

LUNA: Having just finished your first year at NYU, how have you been balancing breaking into the music industry while attending school?

MERCER: I am so humbled to be part of The Clive Davis Institute at NYU — just the peer group alone makes the experience. I have to admit, however, as a freshman, I had a very heavy class load, which made balancing everything challenging. I tend to write my best work at the latest hours of the night, so between homework, songwriting, and recording, I spent most of my days running on caffeine. If I was lucky enough to have some downtime, I made sure to fill it up with studio time and connecting with people in the industry.

LUNA: How do you feel you have grown musically in the last year?

MERCER: I have learned an unbelievable amount from my peers, professors, and friends at NYU. In this past year, I have really matured as a singer-songwriter as well as having more of a hand in production. I have probably grown most from a writing perspective — I used to write everything exclusively on the piano, and now I can write starting from almost anywhere with a few words, a melody line, or based on a sound I hear on the street. I am less piano-dependent which opens up the genres I can tap into.

LUNA: What would you say influences your music the most?

MERCER: How I feel about the things I see, stories I hear, and experiences — I try to write with authenticity. I also want to be true to myself, I know I don't fit perfectly in a lane, and I think that is what makes my music interesting and authentic.

LUNA: What are your plans for the rest of the year? Can we expect more music?

MERCER: I am spending most of my summer recording! I am also writing new material and going through several of my demos to determine which songs to tease next. My goal is to release another single before school starts so… get excited!

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We couldn’t be more stoked to have Suriel Hess as our new headliner for our upcoming LA show 🤩 🫶 Not gonna lie, us & Notorious Noise kinda went OFF with this line up & you’re not gonna wanna miss it - ticket link in bio 🎫