Kameron Marlowe Embraces Heartbreak In ‘Sad Songs for the Soul:’ ‘I Want People to Feel Something’ [Exclusive]

Kameron Marlowe’s new album, Sad Songs for the Soul, is a testament to his ability to bring forth the deepest of emotions from his listeners and make them feel heard. And for him, that’s what matters the most.

Despite being happily engaged, Marlowe has always been drawn to the raw storytelling that only a sad song can deliver. His catalog features a blend of upbeat anthems and love songs, but it’s the somber narratives that fulfill him the most as a songwriter. As a result, he’s built an entire project around the devastation of heartbreak to demonstrate that it’s okay to not be okay.  

“To be honest, sad songs are kind of my bread and butter writing-wise. I don’t know why. Happy songs are just, honestly, they’re kind of boring to me,” Marlowe admitted to Country Now. “There’s no emotion to really capture on other than just tapping your foot. I want people to feel something when I’m writing and feel the pain in the words that I’m singing, and I try to emote that when I’m singing. So I guess I kind of attached myself more to sad songs.”

Why An Album Made Up Solely Of Sad Songs?

He goes on to admit that the idea to create a collection solely of sad songs began as a joke because of the large number of slow melodies and pain-soaked storylines within is repertoire. But with how much passion he has for these kinds of songs, the North Carolina native decided they deserved to all live in one place so that fans could dive in and truly appreciate them.

The song that really motived him to move forward with this idea was his cover of Cam’s “Burning House,” which also happens to be the first track he shared ahead of the full-length project’s official release.

“I heard ‘Burning House’ by Cam on a playlist and I hadn’t heard that song forever and I was like, ‘Golly, that I’d be an awesome cover to put out or to put on an album or something.’ And then I was like, ‘Well, what if I just started putting all these sad songs together?’ And that’s kind of how it came about,” he explained.

Plus, several of the songs that appear on the 10-track collection, like “The Basement” and “If You Stay,” have been waiting in the wings for years, and now, they finally found a home.

The overarching theme within Sad Songs for the Soul is the pain that coincides with heartbreak. We got to see him express that through early releases like “Hello Whiskey,” “Here Lies The Fool,” and “How’s The Leaving Going.” With each track, Marlowe’s powerhouse voice does more than just carry the melody. He commands it, making sure every lyric is heard even after the music fades.

The Saddest Of Sad Songs

There’s no lack of bittersweet sentiments, but in Marlowe’s opinion, the saddest in the bunch is “If You Stay,” which appears as the final track.

“This is going to be a hot take. My personal thought of the saddest song on this project is ‘If You Stay’ at the very bottom. It’s kind of unassuming because it feels the happiest, but if you listen to the words, it’s about a guy who is pleading to do anything he possibly can to get this woman to stay with him. And I think that it’s just gut-wrenching and I actually didn’t even write that, but I thought that Wyatt and the guys that he wrote that with, absolutely crushed it,” he shared honestly.

Having An Impact On Listeners

Fans were quick to share their eagerness to get ahold of this collection as soon as it was announced. Without hearing a single one of these songs, it’s almost guaranteed that the singer/songwriter will find a way to touch the lives of his listeners and act as an outlet for them to work through whatever turmoil they may be facing. Marlowe explained that is his most important responsibility as a songwriter, and it’s the thoughtful responses from fans that encourages him to keep going.  

“I think that’s something that’s so special about music and sad songs altogether is just people find a way to make that song a part of their life and a part of their story and they cling onto it and use it as an anthem to get over something that they’re already feeling,” he explained. “And I’ve had a lot of people tell me how some of these songs would help them and if I’m doing that, then I don’t care if this thing never charts or does anything, that’s enough for me.”

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Unfortunately, anyone hoping to catch Sad Songs for the Soul live could be disappointed as Marlowe stated he doesn’t intent to incorporate them into the set lists throughout his traditional tour route. However, he will be putting them all on display in a very special show dedicated to the project, taking place in Nashville on February 26.

“This is the first time that I’ve kind of said this out loud, but I might make this a very exclusive thing and make it a very small acoustic show, like stripped-down instruments and cool sounds and make it a very different thing because it’s not an all-out Kameron Marlowe record, I guess you could say,” he shared. “It’s more of a passion project and something that I just wanted to do creatively…if people just start screaming that I have to play a song off this, then maybe I’ll do it. Maybe I’ll cave, but I don’t know if it’s going to be a staple in my set list.”

Marlowe is currently on the road with Parker McCollum as part of his What Kinda Man Tour 2025. Beginning this March, he will embark on his own headlining run, dubbed the Keepin’ The Lights On Tour.