Just a few months ago, Riley Clemmons was in a completely different headspace regarding her upcoming music. She was in the studio with some of her favorite writers and producers, and together they had just finished a song that she was ecstatic about – “Over and Over”.

She went into the studio with the title in mind, but wasn’t exactly sure how they would capture it. The session would end up leaving a special mark on everyone involved and help bring to life what Clemmons had envisioned.

Upon producing and building the track, Clemmons and her team were able to capture the essence of what the title felt like to her and the beauty behind it. What would surprise her just a few months later is how timely the song fit in with the worldwide pandemic. The lyrics of “Over and Over”, including her favorite line of “in every sunrise I find another reminder of how much you love me”, encourages listeners that hope can be found in something as simple as a sunrise.

“Obviously we didn't know what was coming in the next few months, but we wanted to write something that really just captured the feeling of awe that comes with being chosen and loved over and over again even when you don't feel worthy of it,” Clemmons said.

As someone who has been affected by the change in how the world currently turns, she has been forced to find new ways to create. Studios are closed and in-person writing sessions are on hold, but she has been able to move those sessions to video calling.

“It's been an adjustment but it's been an amazing way to stay creative and stay connected to producers and writers and an amazing way to get ideas out right now,” she said. “There's so much going on to pull inspiration from so we've been hopping on Zoom sessions and really pulling things back and going back to the basics of songwriting and just recording voice memos and creating the best way we know how for now.”

This also goes for the creation process of visual components to go alongside the audio. While the original plan of filming a music video for “Over and Over” was put on hold, that didn’t stop Clemmons from creating a backup plan.

The music video for “Over and Over” is her directorial debut, filming everyday life at home along with home videos of her as a child and behind-the-scenes of past photoshoots and live shows.  

“We just wanted to find the light in a situation that was seemingly extraordinarily dark and find new ways to be creative,” she said. “I know that's the situation for so many people; no matter what your job is, chances are it's changed a lot and you're having to find new skills and new ways to accomplish goals that you've had. We just wanted the video to be raw and natural in essence so we decided to create something special and personal.”

While this isn’t how Riley Clemmons had planned her year to go, she is making the best of it by continuing to do what she does best. She is still finding ways to be creative and ways to give listeners something new.