MusicDrop: Ayla Yew on Conveying a Message of Never Giving Up With "Believer"

Our latest MusicDrop feature is both a first for us and the one at the center for this interview: Ayla Yew from the VTuber agency NexStage Project. Following the first-year anniversary celebrations with fellow CodeX generation member Zhuni Excel, Ayla has released her first-ever original song titled "Believer".

NewsDrop got the exclusive opportunity to deep dive into the creative process and motivation behind her song "Believer," a song that tells us to never give up our dreams.

Expectations on Producing "Believer"

First off, congratulations on your first solo original song! With "Believer" being your first original, what sort of expectations did you want to meet for this track before the song's production?

Ayla Yew: When thinking about creating my first original song "Believer", my first thought was about what kind of message I wanted to convey. Music is a special and powerful tool, and I wanted my first original to be a song that creates a connection between me and my viewers.

This is why I chose a topic that is very important to me and captivates a lot of my internal feelings and past struggles as someone who struggled with social anxiety, truly opening myself up to the world and showing people who I am.

I aimed for the song to be something people can relate to and feel empowered by, to never give up on their dreams and ambitions!

Celebrating A Year With NexStage

It is worth noting that the song was released in conjunction with the anniversary of the CodeX generation. How did this impact the messaging behind your song?

Ayla Yew: Although the main theme of the song talks about struggles with social anxiety, at the same time the song is a thank-you message to my community. It is thanks to those who have supported me in my life that I have gained the courage to battle my anxiety and aim for big dreams.

My community has allowed me to become more and more confident every single day. "Believer" pushes the idea that it is ok to be afraid and sometimes feel like you’re alone, but to never forget that there are many people in your life that believe in you and support you every step of the way, you’re never truly alone! So don’t let the fear hold you back!

On The Song's Lyrical Direction

Let's talk about the lyrical direction for "Believer", done with JunbugP. How would you say the messaging of "proving your worth" influenced the overall theme for "Believer"?

Ayla Yew: The message of “Proving your worth” is mostly directed towards proving your worth to yourself. Especially to those suffering with social anxiety, it is very easy to isolate yourself or feel like you’re invisible to the world. It can be hard to reach out, even to those close to you, as your mind frequently makes you feel unworthy, not good enough, or out of place.

It is hard to show our true self in fear of rejection. This doesn’t mean that those of us struggling with social anxiety don’t want to be heard by the world - we do! We want the world to hear our voice, however we tend to be unsure as to how to express our feelings.

In the lyrics of "Believer", we tried to push the message that despite what your brain might be telling you, you are worthy, you can do anything you set your mind to, don’t let fear hold you back!

Song Creation Challenges

What are the challenges you faced in creating this song?

Ayla Yew: The biggest challenge was to ensure that the song conveyed the correct message. Since it covers a very deep and personal message, I had many worries about how to create a song that correctly evoked such a powerful message.

Thankfully I was backed up by an amazing team who were 100% on the same page as me. JunbugP perfectly captured all my requests and feelings into the song. If I’m honest, when he provided me with the first demo, I cried listening to it as he took all these scattered feelings that I have struggled to express for years and perfectly put them together into a song.

An additional challenge was creating the music video for "Believer". I wanted the visuals to evoke the message just as strongly as the song, so it was very important that both the audio and video complemented each other. The extra pressure was on me as I chose to take on the job of video editor myself.

I worked very closely with Hanayo Sora, the artist and 2D animator, who helped me with creating a very clear storyboard for all the artwork pieces. She came up with a lot of amazing ideas which created a lot of subtle visual elements that further pushed the message of the song.

Everything in the visuals was done intentionally, from colors, designs, to the smallest changes in scenes. I would love to challenge you all to look closely and find the story in the art, it creates a whole new experience!

Inspirations and Meaning

Who would you say are your main musical inspirations for this track and why?

Ayla Yew: I always feel the biggest connection towards emotional rock songs, which is why I chose to go in this direction. I wanted the song to have a balance between very melodic emotional sections and very powerful aggressive parts.

One strong inspiration was the music from Roselia from the Bang Dream series. Their music is very powerful but also has a very soft and vulnerable side to it as well.

I loved the balance between the two which suited the message of "Believer" perfectly. The vulnerability of opening up about my fears, while gaining the strength to cast those fears aside and pursue my ambitions.

If there is one word that best describes 'Believer', what would it be and why?

Ayla Yew: Believe! "Believer" is all about believing. Believe in your abilities, believe in your dreams, believe in those who believe in you, believe in who you are. There are moments when you might feel afraid, you might feel lost.

Show that “fear” who is the boss! As long as you believe in and continue to work towards your goals, you will find your way. Sometimes all we must do is believe!

Message to Fans

Is there any message you'd like to say to your fans regarding this first original song?

Ayla Yew: I want to say thank you to everyone who has supported me and my journey so far! This song is for you all and my promise that I will not let fear get in my way of pursuing my dreams.

For those of you who might be in a very similar situation to what I was in, may this song be a statement that you can overcome this. Just like how you all believe in me, I believe in you!

We would like to thank NexStage Project executive producer Jake Mandel Popovics and talent manager Kristian Tanquilut for the assistance in making this interview possible.

You can be updated with her latest content by checking out her official YouTube, TikTok and Twitch channels. You can also follow her on her official X (Twitter) page.