Toronto-based pop singer-songwriter Tara Van’s work gives glimpses of her internal world. She is generous in her self-disclosure. As a textbook ADHD oversharer, you can feel her weather report: sun-soaked, overcast, stormy etc. She lets herself express the mess. Her approach is as gutsy and bold as it is tender and vulnerable. She’s inviting you in. Listen to her diary with care. It’s best enjoyed by an open heart.

Tara’s brand new single, “Glow,” embodies the feeling of vibrancy and joy that you feel when you are living as your most authentic and unguarded self. Though the motivational song seems like it might be talking about someone else bringing out that glow in you, the truth of the song is actually that you are bringing out that glow in yourself and admiring how far you have come and how free you feel after dismantling your walls.

I write a bunch of different stuff but I have really been focusing on feel-good, motivational and empowering music in the past year. I don’t want to sugarcoat the troubles of our times, of which there are many, but my goal is to hammer in imported messages about inclusivity, collectivism, self-love, mindfulness, respect, environmentalism, empathy, living reflectively, deep listening, communicating effectively, etc., in hopes that incremental changes to people’s mindsets and mental wellbeing will positively impact individuals who then affect communities who then affect countries who then affect continents and so on and so forth. Love, joyfulness and hope are all completely infectious but so are hate, sadness and negativity. Though I write sad songs as well, and I believe there is complete merit in songs that allow you to tap into and process any emotion, I personally would like to fill the world with as much love as I can in the short time that I have here. – Tara Van