One of the most positive changes we’ve seen in the 21st century is the importance of mental health and encouraging people to be open and talk about their experiences. While the stigma surrounding topics such as anxiety and depression has been fading over the years, we still have a long way to go as a culture. That’s why creators and artists like Kyler St. Phard who use their platform to speak about their own struggles and encourage others that it will be okay are so important to the world, especially now.

Kyler has always created her music from a place of reaching out to others and exposing her own struggles in a way that is real, vulnerable, and powerful. The New Jersey-born artist has always had a strong love for singing and music, but it wasn’t until her middle school years that she began writing and sharing her own songs. For Kyler, the ability to create music was a way to express herself when normal words failed. And as she shared her gift of song, her lyrical message was able to connect and reach others.

Unfortunately, during her freshman year in high school, Kyler experienced an unexpected tragedy that changed her entire world. Her older brother, Coby, who was dealing with his own mental health struggles took his own life. For Kyler, the loss “turned my whole world upside down and put a halt to any "normal" life that I was expected to have.” The artist turned to her music for an outlet and as a way to express the importance of mental health more than ever before. People around her began to listen to the message in the music and began to realize how necessary it is to be more open about mental health and the emotional struggles they’re usually inclined to bottle up and hide.

Her first debut is out on Spotify, called Here’s To. The single contains a blend of acoustics and a positive beat that feel like the music itself is reassuring the listener that everything will be okay and that they are not alone. Kyler’s strong vocals are a balance of both powerful confidence and soothing warmth. The song speaks to the familiar feeling of not being able to be with someone we love, wondering if they’ve moved on already while we’re still missing them. Whether it’s from a physical or emotional distance, the heartbreak of wanting someone we can’t have is a universal experience that everyone can relate to. And Kyler perfectly captures the sentiment as she describes the struggle of “here’s to not thinking of you” and needing to move on. But the song as a whole has an uplifting feeling, as if she’s saying that it hurts now and it’s okay to feel that hurt, because at the end of the day, we know we’ll be able to move on eventually.

In addition to sharing her music through social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok, Kyler has also recently auditioned for the upcoming season of American Idol. The show premieres on February 27th on ABC. To hear more of her music or to learn more, click the link down below: