Fritz Hager finally releases his single Caroline via 19 Recordings.
The song, out on all digital platforms, spins “a fictitious tale of a one-night-stand; a sitcom-esque drama wherein the main male character forgets the name of his heroine acquaintance,” according to a press release, “Confronted by the light of day on the ‘morning after,’ the singer tries to discern whether he’s experiencing apathetic amnesia or a not-so-funny nightmare.”
The American Idol 2022 alum, who finished the season in the Top 5, co-wrote “Caroline” with producer/songwriter Drew Pearson and American Idol 2020 finalist and singer-songwriter Francisco Martin. The track also features Francisco on drums.
“It’s a story about the morning after a one-night stand”
“With my first single after Idol, I felt like I had an opportunity to experiment and fine tune my sound,” Fritz stated in a press statement. “I think that ‘Caroline’ is a culmination of that. Whenever I write I try to play with the relationship between comedy and tragedy and figure out the best balance for each song. I like to describe ‘Caroline’ as a sitcom cold open put to music. It’s a story about the morning after a one-night stand and the narrator trying to find a clever way to remember her name. In real life, this guy is an a****le for sure, but in a sitcom, the audience is rooting for him. I think that this song achieves the same thing.”
“I write for two reasons,” Fritz continued, “to bring sincerity into the mainstream—making observations about the world, personal struggles, universal struggles—and escapism, which is to simply zone out and have fun. There’s a need for both, and I like finding the balance.”
The song has a definite throwback vibe to 80s and 90s indie music, but with a modern twist.
Fritz finally hit 15K presaves for ‘Caroline’
“Caroline” comes out after a sustained effort to convince the “faceless old white dudes” to release it. Last fall, Fritz shared that he needed 15,000 pre-saves before the label would release the song. Finally, when he got close to the 15K mark, “Caroline” was given the green light. The singer had previously promised his fans that when he hit 15K, he would get a tattoo chosen by them..
Finally, Fritz reached the magic 15K mark a few days ago. And the winning fan suggestion, after employing a random number generator is…”Frog king with a mushroom colony.” Stay tuned for the big reveal, Fritz promises.
Fritz grew up a preacher’s kid, and sang in the church choir, where he developed his voice. He picked up a guitar in the sixth grade and started writing influenced by his heroes AC/DC, The Killers, Oasis, Ed Sheeran, James Bay, and John Mayer.
He took a mental health hiatus after dropping out of college, and was faced with the choice of what to do next. Eventually he auditioned for American Idol where he made his mark as a judge and fan favorite. The singer-songwriter released his crowd-funded debut EP during the season, which topped the iTunes Charts. Once he made the Top 7, Fritz released his official American Idol single “Hearts Align,” which reached #5 on the Alternative Charts. He wrapped his Idol career with a performance of the song on Live with Kelly and Ryan.
Fritz and his band are moving to Nashville
Since then, Fritz has taken to the road, performing alongside Maddie Poppe and Leah Marlene, and embarking on the all-Idol “Don’t Blink Tour,” alongside Jonny West, Francisco Martin and Allegra Miles. He’s also been hard at work in the studio, and plans to release several other tracks following “Caroline” this year.
In a recent Instagram post, Fritz revealed that he and his band are relocating from Los Angeles to Nashville.
