Ryan McCartan, an American actor, has risen in the spotlight as a singer. Over the course of his career, McCartan has acted on many different networks such as Disney Channel and Fox. After continuing as a solo artist, McCartan started releasing pop songs for his forthcoming debut EP, “The Opposites.”
Before he became a singer/songwriter, McCartan was known for his acting roles. Back in 2013, he played the lovable boyfriend, Diggie, on the Disney Channel sitcom, “Liv and Maddie,” which lasted until the show ended in 2017.
During the show’s final year, McCartan dived into a new and more adult character on Fox as Brad Majors in the 2016 adaptation of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
In Sep. 2015, McCartan announced the formation of a pop duo with “Liv and Maddie” costar and then-girlfriend Dove Cameron. McCartan and Cameron renamed their YouTube channel to their band name The Girl and The Dreamcatcher after announcing the release of “Written in the Stars.” Over the next year, they released multiple singles and official music videos on their channel.
On June 17, 2016 their last official video for the song “Make You Stay” dropped on their VEVO channel, which received up to 2 million views. Only months after the debut of their EP “Negatives,” the two broke up and went their separate ways, leaving room for McCartan to continue performing as a solo artist.
On Jan. 12, 2017, McCartan officially released his first single, “When You Went Away,” on iTunes along with an acoustic version on his YouTube Channel, ryanmccartan.
Over the next 11 months, he released two more singles, “Everything” and “Right Now,” culminating in March 2018 with the announcement of his fourth single “Changed My Mind” and debut EP.
McCartan shared three original song snippets on his YouTube Channel. In “Choose My Next Single” viewers have a say in which song they want to be McCartan’s next single release. He explains that the songs “Changed My Mind,” “He Don’t Know You” and “I Don’t Want You” represent the stages of grief he experienced from a past breakup.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVNaaZ-qlEE&=&feature=youtu.be
McCartan’s commentary offers fans a preview of the deep lyrics found in his upcoming project. “I Don’t Want You,” with its chorus and techno chords, carries an upbeat tempo accompanied by emotionally-driven lyrics. With lines like “I’m calling your bluff again ‘cause I know you want me, but I don’t want you,” viewers could consider the song the bargaining stage of McCartan’s grief.
The mood shifts when McCartan introduces “He Don’t Know You,” a slow acoustic song. He tells his fans that this is the “anger stage, where a new guy came into her life.” The song’s bitter tone brings all the anger to the surface: “It must be nice to keep him in the dark like that, he don’t know the shit he’s smoking when he breathes you in. You’re addictive.”
As the final choice, the singer plays a more upbeat track, “Changed My Mind,” which at first seems like the denial stage as the words are directed toward numbing the pain. While lyrics such as “one night you need me, next night you leave me. Is this what you call standing your ground?” point to his pain, the song more accurately represents the last stage, acceptance, with the singer finally realizing the toxic nature of the relationship.
On March 29, McCartan dropped the full upbeat version of the song, which he later confirmed as the acceptance stage. McCartan acknowledges the compositional and lyrical differences in his music. “I don’t wanna be pigeonholed into one thing. I think art is supposed to be messy and fun,” he said.
The singer announced on Instagram that he finished recording his debut EP on April 27 — a huge milestone for his solo career. “This is a massive passion project of mine, as every song was written, performed, produced, recorded and engineered all by me in my home studio,” he told Just Jared. “I feel blessed every day to be able to create and share my art with the world. I’ve never been happier in my entire life!”
Along with the release of “Changed My Mind,” McCartan added that the single “is one of five songs which takes listeners through my convoluted and tumultuous grieving process following a horrific break up.” The newest single is one of five songs featured in his upcoming EP, which comes out this spring.
