Ashley Crichton
Upon visiting kylekelly’s TikTok profile, you’ll see a photo of him wearing a “written by a woman” t-shirt, referencing a meme where emotionally intelligent, thoughtful men are said to be written by a woman as if they were the charming lead in a romantic comedy. And with that self-aware, clever charisma in mind, Kyle sets the scene for himself to become one of pop-rock music’s beloved leading men with his debut EP, a melancholic romcom. It’s clear he’s learned from some of the genre’s best – with artists like Shawn Mendes, Ross Lynch, and 5 Seconds Of Summer’s influences coming through – while building a world all his own full of tender details, relatable storylines, and intertextual connections that will keep you coming back to piece together the full story.
Speaking of stories, it’s easy to get lost in a melancholic romcom and imagine your own scenes taking place with Kyle’s voice as the soundtrack… so much that Kyle’s started thinking up his own screenplay. His passion for his work and world-building shines through as he breaks down his dream melancholic romcom plot!
“I assigned each character each of the songs from the EP to sort of streamline how to work in the EP,” he explains to TREMG. “One character is the outspoken, sarcastic, cold on the outside but a bit soft on the inside, happily single type (‘my little heart <3,’ ‘HOW IS THIS GONNA END?’) and the other is the fresh out of a long-term relationship, doesn’t really know what to do with themselves, thought they had it all figured out sort of type (‘OMG,’ ‘Priscilla,’ ‘what if i never get over you’), and the two of them have their meet cute – obviously.”
He continues, “From there, the crush starts to develop pretty rapidly between the two (‘nothing looks good on you’), but there’s a bit of a love triangle between the two and the ex long-term partner (‘it always ends the same’), and the story unfolds from there. I’ve gotten very into this as we’ve done promo for the EP as you can tell.”
From the tangy guitars of “my little heart <3” to the heart-wrenching memories of “what if i never get over you” and the societal angst of “HOW IS THIS GONNA END?,” a melancholic romcom is a cinematic voyage through crushing, heartbreak, and modern life that will keep you hooked through all seven tracks. Fans around North America have been lucky enough to witness the world of a melancholic romcom live as Kyle took the stage supporting Daniel Seavey’s Second Wind Tour, and another group will be able to scream along to the EP’s lyrics when the tour resumes in Australia this June.
“I think the biggest thing I learned really was to just keep it light-hearted and have fun,” Kyle reflects on the North American leg earlier this spring. “We’ve really made it our goal to just have the biggest twenty minute party we can. We go on, we do our thing, we get off – and it’s that simple. Also, the fans have really started to love me embracing my sassier ‘diva’ side of myself, which is very core to my being, so I’ve really been more and more able to be myself onstage which is comforting and reassuring. Makes all of our lives easy. Beyond that, I have really learned that I truly love and had dearly missed Capri Suns.”
Take that as your cue to grab a Capri Sun and dive into this incredible EP! You can find a melancholic romcom on your favorite streaming services now, and get to know kylekelly on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and his website! Keep reading for more from our Q&A with this rising pop icon.
Hi Kyle, congratulations on the release of a melancholic romcom! How does it feel to finally let the EP out into the world and into fans’ lives?
It’s honestly such a crazy feeling. The rest of the songs have been received so well, and I’ve only teased a small bit of each of the new ones on the EP, and let me tell you, those girls go feral for new stuff. I think it’s just so so cool for these songs I’ve been listening to and overthinking for the past year can finally be out and heard.
How did you know it was the right time to release your debut EP?
It was really just an intuition thing. This wasn’t the original plan of rollout, but when we booked the Daniel Seavey tour and the fans were receiving me and the music so well, we just completely pivoted to rolling the EP out as soon as possible. We kind of organized it so that the next single would come out as we were across the US, and then when that was out I could be like, “Oh, yeah – and there’s an EP coming, too.” All nonchalant, of course.
There are so many amazing lyrics on a melancholic romcom, with one of our favorites being “I’m addicted to the thought of what we almost had” on “OMG.” Is there a certain line you’re especially proud of, and what does it mean to you?
Oh my god, that’s such a good question. I think for me the most hard-hitting lyrics are obviously on “HOW IS THIS GONNA END?” or “it always ends the same.” For me personally – right now at least – there’s one lyric on “what if i never get over you” that’s really similar to your favorite that says, “reading up on all the books from my list, I’m tryna bury myself in the fiction, ‘cause journals, photos always get addictive, and I’m the one to turn away assistance.” There’s a ton of self-referentialism and a lot of callbacks to “OMG” in “what if i never get over you,” and this lyric especially really cements that idea for myself that it’s actually the things that are most real that are the addictive things – the memories, the letters, the photos, the thought of what could have been… and so I’ll try to spend my nights in pure escapism in hopes that I can sort of run out the clock on how long I’ll think of her.
a melancholic romcom has two previously unreleased songs, “what if i never get over you” and “nothing looks good on you.” What inspired these two tracks?
These two in specific were actually quite spontaneous despite how visceral and detailed they are. Both were written in about thirty minutes without any sort of preconceived notion of who or what they’d be about. The first came out of a session I had in Nashville with a new co-writer of mine, Nick Bailey, and we had the first verse, the first pre, then he sang the tag, “what if i never get over you,” and I was just like – oh… yeah… I know what this is about now. It’s a sort of heart-wrenching question I’ve had with myself (and my lovely therapist), and it was the first time in my life that I found the ability to write about it. The latter, “nothing looks good on you,” was truly just me channeling my innermost Ross Lynch at my desk one random week-day night. I had the idea for the tag out of nowhere while walking to Erewhon – naturally – and that night the entire song just fell out of me.
You declare yourself a “bet trope romcom enthusiast” in your Instagram bio! If you could make a rom-com inspired by a melancholic romcom, what would the plot be and what tropes would you include?
I am in fact a huge bet trope romcom enthusiast. Love them all. That Awkward Moment, She’s All That, 10 Things I Hate About You, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days… the list goes on. I actually was just asked this and was starting to write a screenplay out, so I have a much more thought-out and concise answer for you. So, in my head, a melancholic romcom is much more of a love triangle trope and grumpy vs. sunshine, (I think that’s what it’s called?) trope than a bet trope. I assigned each character each of the songs from the EP to sort of streamline how to work in the EP. One character is the outspoken, sarcastic, cold on the outside but a bit soft on the inside, happily single type (“my little heart <3,” “HOW IS THIS GONNA END?”) and the other is the fresh out of a long-term relationship, doesn’t really know what to do with themselves, thought they had it all figured out sort of type (“OMG,” “Priscilla,” “what if i never get over you”), and the two of them have their meet cute – obviously. From there, the crush starts to develop pretty rapidly between the two (“nothing looks good on you”), but there’s a bit of a love triangle between the two and the ex long-term partner (“it always ends the same”), and the story unfolds from there. I’ve gotten very into this as we’ve done promo for the EP as you can tell.
Which song on a melancholic romcom do you think best encapsulates who you are as an artist?
It’s so hard to pick one. I often lean toward “OMG” because I wrote the whole thing and planned out of every bit of the production by myself, but really the more and more we play shows, people listen to the music, and I listen back after having had these songs done for so long, I really think “my little heart <3” is such a good representation of who I am as an artist both lyrically and sonically.
You have some pretty cool tattoos yourself – do you have any ink ideas for fans who would want to get a tattoo inspired by a melancholic romcom?
This is actually so insane of me to say, but I actually really struggle with tattoo ideas that go with my work. People ask me all the time for me to draw them a tattoo or write a lyric for them to tattoo and my mind just goes blank. I have tattoos of my own for each single and the EP, but I would never suggest someone get a matching tattoo of mine. I think maybe the best idea I have is one that I’ve seen a few times now which is the “medicated with a notebook” line from “OMG,” and then obviously a notebook design with it. I love the idea of people getting little hearts and “nonchalant” for “my little heart <3” or question marks for “HOW IS THIS GONNA END?,” but unfortunately I have really really struggled with having good tattoo ideas with this.
Congrats on finishing up the North American leg of your tour opening up for Daniel Seavey! What’s something you learned on the NA leg that you’re taking with you into future shows?
Thank you! It was so so much fun. I think the biggest thing I learned really was to just keep it light-hearted and have fun. We’ve really made it our goal to just have the biggest twenty minute party we can. We go on, we do our thing, we get off – and it’s that simple. Also, the fans have really started to love me embracing my sassier “diva” side of myself, which is very core to my being, so I’ve really been more and more able to be myself onstage which is comforting and reassuring. Makes all of our lives easy. Beyond that, I have really learned that I truly love and had dearly missed Capri Suns.
Speaking of tour, you’ve played such fun covers on the road, like One Direction’s “Stockholm Syndrome” in Stockholm! If you could have any artist cover one of the songs on a melancholic romcom, who would you choose and which song would you want them to take on?
Oh, this is so difficult. I love when artists are able to apply their own style and production to other’s songs, so I’d love to hear a more singer-songwriter, maybe even folk or country artist cover it – like Role Model, Annika Bennett, or Joshua Bassett maybe. Someone on a bit more of an acoustic/analog side of things. There’s an artist whose work I have absolutely fallen in love with named Elle Coves, and hearing her cover “my little heart <3” or “it always ends the same” would be so so cool.
What can your fans look forward to in the rest of 2025?
Wrapping the Second Wind Tour with Daniel in Australia and New Zealand this June will be absolutely insane I’m sure. After that, there may or may not be more music coming very very soon (*cough cough* a second EP *cough*). And – ya know – there may or may not be some more live shows throughout the year. Who’s to say!
Is there anything else you’d like to mention or say to your fans that the questions didn’t touch on?
I always want to be mysterious, and yet – I can never shut up. Whatever. There’s a certain song I teased on my TikTok not long ago that is coming out much sooner than people may think. Alright, now I’ll be quiet.
Love you, girlies <3
By Madison Murray
Featured Image: Ashley Crichton
