Dove Cameron.Photo:Sarah Krick
Sarah Krick
Dove Cameronis picking up the pieces.
On Friday, the pop star, 27, released her new song “Sand” — and now she’s sharing an exclusive first look at its upcoming music video with PEOPLE (below).
“You have more pieces of me than the desert has sand / And I have less pieces of you than I can hold in my hand,” Cameron sings on the haunting track, over moody production that features ethereal piano and stark synths.
The new track will appear on Cameron’s upcoming two-part albumAlchemical: Volume 1,due Dec. 1.
“Sand” is very emblematic of a lot ofAlchemical: Volume 1because this volume is very focused on the fallout of a very important relationship in my life and the journey I took to rebuild myself," says Cameron, who has yet to confirm who inspired the song (she was last publicly linked toGossip Girlstar Thomas Doherty;they splitin October 2020). “It touches on the loss of the life that I thought I was going to have with someone, along with finding myself again and doing the trauma work.
Cameron adds: “It’s not entirely about the relationship. It’s also about things that are completely separate from that relationship. It’s about finally being honest with myself and allowing myself to tell stories that I had previously felt were too vulnerable to share. ‘Sand’ is an acknowledgment of all of those things and of my humanity, vulnerability and fragility, which is something that I’ve had a very hard time doing up until this point in my career.”
“It was really important to me that I learned to play the song on the piano because my dad was an incredible pianist. I’ve always been afraid to learn to play the piano because I was afraid that it was going to make me feel too emotionally connected to him,” she says.
Cameron adds: “For a long time, I’ve been running from the pain of losing my father. I don’t know if that translates or makes any sense, but the piano was something that I neglected for a very long time because of it. He was never not playing the piano when I was home as a child. So, I wanted to learn the song on piano and wanted to really be performing it. It’s also something that I plan on bringing forward with me on tour. Being able to play along while I sing and feel like my father’s daughter.”
Cameron first teased “Sand” on Instagram on Thursday, sharing some behind-the-scenes photos and videos alongside the caption: “a song about a boy. tonight at midnight.”
When the full video drops, Cameron hopes fans can find some comfort if they’ve experienced similar heartache.
“I hope what fans take away is a sense of connectivity and vulnerability to themselves, and to a story like this that is so universal: a story that feels like no matter how much you give of yourself, sometimes the person that you love just can’t give themselves in the same way, can’t see you in the same way, can’t love you fully in the way that you love them fully,” she says.
Cameron adds: “It creates a feeling of slowly becoming invisible — knowing that this is a universal experience, knowing that you’re not alone in that, and knowing that the most important thing in a relationship is finding someone, that the more you give of yourself, the more they give of themselves. To have mutual trust and meeting on the invisible bridge where you’re both creating a safe environment for each other. I really want to encourage my fans to trust their instincts when they meet someone, to walk away from things that don’t serve them, and to not wait as many years as I did to learn that lesson. I want them to know that if they’re in the same situation that I was, that it’s okay and you’re not alone.”
“Sand” is the fourth offering fromAlchemical: Volume 1that Cameron has shared, following the releases of “Lethal Woman,” “Breakfast” and “Boyfriend.”
source: people.com
