//Upstate Beat: Rhea Deleo’s ‘Walk Away’ pairs unrequited love with dark electronic pop

Upstate Beat: Rhea Deleo’s ‘Walk Away’ pairs unrequited love with dark electronic pop

For the month of March, my Upstate Beat columns will be focusing on new original singles by local artists.

If Upstate singer-songwriter Rhea Deleo’s name doesn’t sound familiar, her face and voice might ring a bell. Deleo has been singing for the popular Upstate variety band Hot as a Pepper for a while now, covering a range of popular hits and honing her chops as a performer. She’s just been doing it under her given name: Shannon Ferguson.

But when she began writing and recording her own music, Ferguson decided it was time for a change.

“For a long time, as I’ve been thinking about where I wanted my music to go, I wanted to create a name that felt more appropriate, something that resonated with me,” she says. “‘Rhea’ is a name that’s resonated with me since childhood, and ‘Deleo’ is a play on words for ‘the Leo,’ which is actually my Zodiac sign. I loved how that flowed.”

Whatever name it’s under, though, Deleo’s new single, “Walk Away,” is an absolute winner. It’s a dark-hued, haunting electronic pop song that deals with a topic we can probably all relate to: unrequited love.

“The inspiration was based on a past unfulfilling romantic relationship,” she says. “The love was there from my side but not the other person involved. I think that’s something that so many people experience.”

In a bit of a twist, though, the song combines two different perspectives, speaking for both the loved and the lover.

“I know you love me dear/ The dedication’s sweet,” Deleo sings in the first verse, “But I can’t imagine/ Ever having any kind of life with you.”

In the next verse, Deleo switches sides, singing “I can’t just walk away and close the door,” despite being rejected. The two sides are separated by both their conflicting viewpoints and a soaring, incredibly catchy chorus.

“The inspiration was based on a past unfulfilling romantic relationship,” she says. “The love was there from my side but not the other person involved. I think that’s something that so many people experience.”
Deleo decided that that powerful feeling needed an equally powerful video clip, and she enlisted director-producer David Bliss to create it.

In the video for “Walk Away,” Deleo herself plays the broken-hearted lover, flashing back to the push and pull of her relationship.

It’s a startlingly well-executed concept that’s perfect for the song, and it’s also a highly polished product, especially for a local independent artist.

“I had to constantly take myself back to the emotions I first experienced when I wrote it. It was uncomfortable having to do that so much. I have David to thank for being the director and producer for this,” Deleo says. 

Writing and singing the song was one thing, but being the lead in the video was another.

“It was definitely something I’d never delved into before, because I’ve never acted in anything before,” she says. “I had to constantly take myself back to the emotions I first experienced when I wrote it. It was uncomfortable having to do that so much, but I think it made for a very authentic feel to the video.”

Facts

Deleo originally planned to be an opera singer.

She is a graduate of Converse College, with a degree in contemporary music and media applications.

One of her professors at Converse was John Jeter, former co-owner of The Handlebar and current writer for the Greenville Journal.

She’s plans to have her first full-length album out by the end of this summer.

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