In one of the best videos we’ve seen this year, Hollie Rogers presents a training module to teach us how to pretend that everything is fine. Some wonderfully-ridiculous snippets of advice crawl across the screen, encouraging us to, “Remember: if you look fine, you are fine,” and, “Vent responsibly. Avoid colleagues.” On-screen, Rogers hydrates from a variety of objects, pretends to understand mathematical equations and tries to pour tea in a windstorm, before finally arriving at acceptance. Indeed, the video, created by Nick J Henderson, is delightfully tongue-in-cheek, bringing a light-hearted perspective to the common theme of struggling to cope while attempting to portray ourselves to the world as successful and fulfilled. Busy people, especially parents and women, are always pushed to ‘keep calm and carry on’ rather than recognising our challenges or asking for help. Rogers is promoting a little more honesty, self-awareness and self-love on Everything’s Fine.
Everything’s Fine was co-written with renowned singer-songwriters Elles Bailey and Beth Nielsen Chapman, who both also perform on the track. The result is an upbeat song, full of swing and sway, that has the trio’s outstanding vocals at its heart. One of the finest session bands in Europe, Stefan Redtenbacher’s Funkestra, delivers the energetic instrumentation.
The song came together during one of Chris Difford’s invitation-only songwriting retreats. Rogers explains: “I wrote this track with Elles Bailey and Beth Nielsen-Chapman. I already knew Beth and Elles, but we’d never had the chance to write together before this. Poor Elles was really ill, but famously, not even a zombie apocalypse would stop her making music. That spirit is probably what led to us discussing how much we juggle as independent women; how many plates we spin, how stressful it can be, and how effortless we make it look. That’s really the heart of the song we went on to write. Everything’s Fine is about spinning a hundred plates and smiling like you’ve got it all under control.”
Bailey adds, “I love Hollie’s version of Everything’s Fine and the way she’s taken the song and truly made it her own. I was in the writing session when this song was penned, but things were not ‘fine’ for me. I was a very poorly pup, and I always chuckle when I hear it now and look back. It’s such a joy to sing on this track and celebrate Hollie. I’m so happy the song has found its place and become a whole new chapter for her.”
Beth Nielsen Chapman also shares: “Sitting in a room at the beautiful Pennard House with these two wild women and writing this song was a blast. We pulled this off in a couple of hours, laughing our asses off while we were writing it. I love Hollie’s version – she’s definitely hit a home run here!”
This is the third single and the title track from Rogers’ brand-new album. Her previous record, 2022’s Criminal Heart, was full of raw emotion and heartbreak. Life took an unexpected turn after that when Rogers got engaged to the person who had inspired those songs. Rogers suddenly found herself on a different path, sensible and settled. Everything was fine until things began to unravel thanks to the complications of everyday life. She explains: “Everything’s Fine aims to capture life in all its messy, brilliant, unpredictable moments. Some songs hit hard, some make you smile, and some do both. I wanted to tell stories that feel real and connect emotionally. Basically, life happens, and this is the soundtrack.” Rogers manages to find humour in the chaos, while remaining honest and authentic – it’s a fine balance that displays her songwriting skill. Upbeat and uplifting stuff – check this out.
