K.Flay opens up on wanting to be a “real sister” in heartwarming new song

K.Flay sings about a special kind of love in her latest track, not about a significant other, but a family member instead.

Directing the lyrics of “Sister” at a possible sibling or friend, the rising alt-pop star conveys an unconditional level of love that only a brother or sister can know over upbeat, summery instrumentals.

Read more: Ross Lynch creeped out Jeffrey Dahmer’s pal on ‘My Friend Dahmer’ set

Explaining the feeling of gaining two step-siblings, K.Flay reminisced about her step-siblings, and what it felt like to have them after being an only child.

“When my mom married my second dad, I went from being an only child to having a brother and a sister,” she says. “It felt warmer all of a sudden. It felt like neverending sleepovers and singing Ace Of Base in the living room, and too much Mountain Dew and not being lonely.”

Despite the wonderful feeling of having a full family, she says there was still doubt and sadness.

“I was their stepsister, and even after my first dad died and their dad adopted me it didn’t erase the difference I felt,” she says. “I wanted to be their real sister.”

She went on to elaborate on what family means to her, giving more value to the relationships people build over the ones that they are born into.

“I’ve come to understand that family is created,” she says. “Family is a verb. It’s something you build day by day, sometimes in the hot sun and sometimes when everything is going wrong. Being a sister isn’t about gender or DNA. It’s about unselfconscious love.”

Overall, K.Flay dedicated the song to her siblings, who she most likely doesn’t refer to as step-brother or step-sister.

“This song is dedicated to Andy and Lauren. I’m glad you wanted to be mine.”

Check out the new track below.

“Sister” is the latest track off her upcoming album, Solutions, which is set to release July 12. You can preorder the album here, or check out the latest single here.

K.Flay hits the road in Sept. for the Solutions on sale now tour. Tickets are with a full list of dates below.

Dates:

06/07 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Cosmopolitan
06/10 – Indianapolis, IN @ The Vogue
06/12 – Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart’s
06/14 – Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival
06/15 – New Orleans, LA @ Howlin’ Wolf
06/29 – West Valley City, UT @ LOVELOUD Festival
09/03 – Phoenix, AZ @ Marquee
09/05 – San Diego, CA @ Observatory North Park
09/07 – Oakland, CA @ The Fox
09/09 – Vancouver, BC @ The Commodore
09/11 – Seattle, WA @ SODO
09/13 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
09/14 – Missoula, MT @ The Wilma
09/17 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Ave
09/19 – Chicago, IL @ The Riviera Theatre
09/20 – Detroit, MI @ The Crofoot
09/21 – Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom
09/22 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix
09/24 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
09/25 – Boston, MA @ Royale
09/26 – Philadelphia, PA @ TLA
09/29 – Washington, DC @ 930 Club
09/30 – Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore
10/02 – Nashville, TN @ Marathon
10/12 – Denver, CO @ The Fillmore

K.Flay appears in one of our latest issues, AP #371 with cover stars The Driver Era. The singer explains that if her previous album was a leather jacket, her new music is a denim one: different vibe, still cool. Grab your own copy here or below.