Interview with Matt Hansen: Learning to Let Go

Matt Hansen has built his world through honesty. Long before the release of his debut album, Orchid, the LA-based singer-songwriter had already formed a deep emotional connection with listeners around the world, amassing over 1 billion streams and a devoted global fanbase through songs that turn vulnerability into something shared. His voice, powerful yet intimate, carries the weight of love, loss and reflection, but it is his songwriting that has made him one of modern pop’s most quietly compelling independent artists.

With Orchid, Hansen steps into his most personal chapter yet. Across 18 tracks, the album explores the emotional aftermath of loving too deeply, losing yourself in the process and slowly finding the courage to begin again. From the ache of Something To Remember and the release of LET EM GO to the grounding hope of Compass and the closing title track, Orchid unfolds like a journey through heartbreak, healing and acceptance.

For Hansen, the album is not simply about the end of a relationship. It is about what grows after survival. Through its delicate symbolism, Orchid becomes a meditation on love as something beautiful, fragile and not always meant to last forever. In conversation with House of Solo, Matt Hansen opens up about vulnerability, independence, emotional healing, touring the world and learning that sometimes the bravest act of love is letting go.

Matt Hansen has built his world through honesty. Long before the release of his debut album, Orchid, the LA-based singer-songwriter had already formed a deep emotional connection with listeners around the world, amassing over 1 billion streams and a devoted global fanbase through songs that turn vulnerability into something shared. His voice, powerful yet intimate, carries the weight of love, loss and reflection, but it is his songwriting that has made him one of modern pop’s most quietly compelling independent artists.

With Orchid, Hansen steps into his most personal chapter yet. Across 18 tracks, the album explores the emotional aftermath of loving too deeply, losing yourself in the process and slowly finding the courage to begin again. From the ache of Something To Remember and the release of LET EM GO to the grounding hope of Compass and the closing title track, Orchid unfolds like a journey through heartbreak, healing and acceptance.

For Hansen, the album is not simply about the end of a relationship. It is about what grows after survival. Through its delicate symbolism, Orchid becomes a meditation on love as something beautiful, fragile and not always meant to last forever. In conversation with House of Solo, Matt Hansen opens up about vulnerability, independence, emotional healing, touring the world and learning that sometimes the bravest act of love is letting go.

For readers discovering you for the first time, who is Matt Hansen beyond the music?

Beyond the music, I’m just someone trying to make sense of life and connect with people through honesty. I’ve experienced love, loss, self-doubt and healing like everyone else, and my music is really just an extension of that journey. At the end of the day, I hope people see someone who isn’t afraid to feel deeply and share those feelings with others.

You’ve built such a strong connection with people through emotional honesty. Were you always someone who found it easy to express how you felt?

Not at all. For a long time, I kept a lot of my feelings to myself because I didn’t know how to put them into words. Music became the place where I could be completely honest. The more I opened up, the more I realised that vulnerability isn’t a weakness; it’s what helps us connect with each other.

Orchid is your debut album and feels like such a personal body of work. What did you want this album to say about who you are, both as an artist and as a person?

Orchid is the most honest version of me I’ve ever shared. As an artist, it reflects the stories and emotions I’ve carried for years, and as a person, it shows my journey through love, loss, growth and healing. More than anything, I wanted it to remind people that even our most painful experiences can help us become stronger and more authentic versions of ourselves.

The title Orchid carries this idea of something beautiful, delicate and difficult to keep alive. Why did that image feel like the right symbol for this chapter?

The orchid felt like the perfect symbol because it reflects how I saw love and growth during this chapter of my life. It’s beautiful, fragile and something that requires care to survive. This album is about learning that not everything is meant to be held onto forever, and sometimes the healthiest thing you can do is let go so something new can grow.

You’ve described the album as being about loving too deeply, losing yourself, finding the courage to leave and making space for something healthier to grow. Was there a moment during the writing process when you realised this was the emotional centre of the album?

Yes. There was a point where I realised I wasn’t just writing about heartbreak. I was writing about losing myself and learning how to find my way back. Once that became clear, everything on the album started to connect. It wasn’t just a story about letting someone go; it was a story about choosing myself again.

The album explores the aftermath of an abusive relationship with a lot of honesty. How did you find the strength to turn something so painful into music that could help other people feel seen?

I didn’t find the strength all at once. Writing the songs was how I survived it. For a long time, the pain felt isolating, but putting it into music gave it somewhere to go. If those honest moments help someone else feel less alone, then something that hurt me deeply has been transformed into something meaningful and incredibly healing.

Vulnerability is a major theme throughout Orchid, especially when it comes to encouraging men to express their emotions. Why is that message important for you to share through this album?

For me, vulnerability isn’t weakness. It’s courage. I think a lot of men are taught to hide their emotions, and that can be incredibly lonely. With this album, I wanted to show that being honest about pain, fear and healing is a strength. If it helps even one person feel safe enough to open up, then sharing my story was worth it.

Love Is Like A Garden opens the album with the idea of searching through the weeds to find the flowers beneath. Why did that feel like the right introduction to the world of Orchid?

Because healing starts with honesty. Before you can grow something beautiful, you have to face what’s been hurting underneath. That song felt like the perfect beginning because it’s about choosing hope despite the pain and trusting that, even after everything, there’s still something worth nurturing and growing.

Songs like Something To Remember, Somewhere In Between and Gravity explore different stages of love, loss and attachment. How important was it for you to show the complicated middle ground between holding on and letting go?

It was really important because healing is rarely black and white. Most of us spend a lot of time in that space between holding on and moving forward, where love, grief and hope all exist at once. Those songs are about being honest with that uncertainty and recognising that sometimes growth happens in the middle of the struggle, not just at the end of it.

LET EM GO has clearly connected with fans in a huge way. Why do you think that song became such a powerful reminder for people?

I think it connected because letting go is something almost everyone struggles with. Whether it’s a person, a memory or a version of yourself, there’s pain in releasing what you once loved. The song reminds people that sometimes the hardest act of love is letting go, and there can be freedom and healing on the other side of that choice.

On Found, you explore the fear of stepping into something new after a difficult relationship. How did writing that song help you understand the difference between fear and intuition?

Writing that song helped me realise that fear speaks from past wounds, while intuition speaks from self-trust. Fear wanted to protect me from getting hurt again, but intuition quietly reminded me that not every new chapter has to repeat the last one. The song became a way of learning to trust myself again, even when I was scared.

Versions Of Forever touches on the idea that forever can mean different things at different points in life. Has your understanding of love changed while making this album?

Absolutely. Making this album taught me that love isn’t measured by how long it lasts, but by how deeply it shapes you. Sometimes people are meant to stay forever, and sometimes they’re meant to teach you something and leave. I’ve learned that both can be meaningful, and that letting go doesn’t erase the love that was there.

Compass speaks to the kind of love that grounds you and brings you back to yourself. After writing so much about pain and release, did that song feel like a moment of hope?

Yes, it felt like a light breaking through after a long storm. So much of the album is about loss and healing, and Compass was a reminder that love can also be grounding and safe. It gave me hope that after all the pain, it’s still possible to find your way back to yourself and to someone who helps you feel at home.

The final track, Orchid, is described as your favourite song you’ve ever written. What makes that song feel so complete for you?

Orchid feels complete because it holds everything the album is trying to say through all of the pain, growth, loss, forgiveness and hope. It’s the song where I stopped looking backward and finally embraced who I’d become. Writing it felt like closing a chapter with gratitude instead of regret, and that’s why it means so much to me.

Across the album, there is a clear emotional journey from longing and heartbreak to acceptance and healing. Did you write the album in that order, or did the story reveal itself later?

I didn’t write it in that exact order. The songs came from different moments in my life and healing process. It was only later, when I stepped back and looked at them together, that I realised they were telling a larger story. In a way, the album revealed the journey to me just as much as I was living it.

Your songwriting feels very direct and intimate, almost like you’re speaking to one person but reaching millions. How do you balance personal truth with making music that others can see themselves in?

I try not to overthink the “audience” while I’m writing. I just focus on telling the truth of what I felt in that moment, as honestly as I can. The strange part is that the more specific and personal it is, the more people seem to find themselves in it. It’s like our experiences are different, but the emotions underneath are the same.

You’ve built a massive global fanbase independently, with over 1 billion streams and millions of monthly listeners. What has independence taught you about trusting your own voice?

It’s taught me that your voice is strongest when you don’t dilute it to fit anything else. Independence means there’s no safety net, and you have to trust your instincts fully, even when it’s scary. But seeing people connect with that honesty has proven that staying true to yourself is enough, and that’s the most grounding feeling in the world.

Your early connection with fans came through TikTok before your original music reached a wider global audience. How has that direct relationship with listeners shaped the way you create?

It shaped everything. That direct connection made me write like I was speaking to one person, not a crowd. It pushed me to stay honest because I could see instantly when something didn’t feel real. In a way, they’ve always been part of the process, always guiding me to be more open, more human and more myself.

Taking your music offline through touring must have been a huge shift after building such a strong online audience. What surprised you most about hearing these songs sung back to you around the world?

Hearing the songs sung back around the world was surreal. What surprised me most was how personal they became to other people. Songs I wrote in isolation suddenly belonged to everyone in a different way. That kind of shared emotion is something you can’t really prepare for.

You’ve toured with artists like Dean Lewis, Teddy Swims, Lauv, Train and Alec Benjamin. What have those experiences taught you about live performance and emotional connection?

Touring with artists like Dean Lewis, Teddy Swims, Lauv, Train and Alec Benjamin taught me that live performance is really about presence, not perfection. It’s about creating a moment where people feel something real together, even in a room full of strangers.

Orchid contains 18 tracks, which gives the project a very expansive feel. How did you decide which songs belonged on the album?

Choosing the 18 songs felt like following emotional truth more than logic. If a song still felt necessary in telling the story of love, loss or healing, it stayed. I wanted the album to feel like a full emotional journey, not just a collection of tracks.

When listeners finish Orchid, what do you hope they take away from the album?

By the end of Orchid, I hope people feel a sense of acceptance. That love can break you, shape you and still be something beautiful. That healing doesn’t mean forgetting; it means learning how to carry it differently.