Devon Cole’s “Call U After Rehab” Is an Unconventional Love Song
Toronto-based alt-pop songstress Devon Cole releases her most vulnerable release to date that shows her softer, more intimate side. “Call U After Rehab” is a love song that takes place after pausing a relationship in order to fulfill one’s own needs. Cole recalls putting off her problems to justify her bad habits, but decided to release what no longer serves her and said the ultimate goodbye to her closest comforts and to give herself the space and time to heal. For the songstress, “Call U After Rehab” felt like ripping off a band-aid.
“I hope people can relate by interpreting the rehab idea however they want to,” Cole says.
Following her hit singles like “W.I.T.C.H.” and “Hey Cowboy,” “Call U After Rehab” exemplifies Devon’s introspective side. Catchily packaging social truths in repeat worthy pop hits, Cole has quietly emerged as an enigmatic and engaging force to be reckoned with over the past year. Her buzzing smash “W.I.T.C.H.” (Woman in Total Control of Herself) has eclipsed 70 million streams and counting. Following this success, she maintained her momentum with the endlessly catchy sex-positive anthem “Hey Cowboy.”
“Call U After Rehab” was a healing experience for Cole.
“It was healing for me writing it and producing it out and recording the vocals for it,” Cole says. “It's been a very healing journey for me. I would say that this song feels a lot like ripping off a band aid that's been there for a long time. It is the first song on my artist project where I think I'm being really vulnerable. I'm typically very quirky and raunchy and my lyrics, but this does feel like one big, deep breath for me and it's scary. I think it's really important to do scary things as an artist and to release songs that are scary.”
Since signing to Arista Records in 2022, Devon has reached the precipice of a major breakthrough. She’s already amassed millions of streams across her repertoire and recently nabbed a 2023 Juno Award nomination for “Breakthrough Artist of the Year” and a 2023 Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Award nomination for “Favorite Breakout Artist.”
[UNPUBLISHED]: Thank you for sitting down and talking to Unpublished Magazine. Our readers would love to get to know you and your new single “Call U After Rehab.” You previously said that this is your most vulnerable release yet, so I would love to know about the inspiration behind the single and how the creative inspiration looks like for you?
[DEVON]: I love this question. This is my first song where I'm talking about mental health. I think it's the first single where I'm being really intimate and introspective, which is very exciting and it feels like a new step for me as an artist. The inspiration came from a relationship that I felt that I needed to take a step back from in order to work on myself. There was a lot of therapy that I needed to do, but I knew that it would take work and I didn't want to put in that work. I felt that I wasn't ready to, and so this song captures that moment where I'm deciding that I need to put in that work.
[UNPUBLISHED]: “Call U After Rehab” definitely touches on breaking away from a relationship to take care of yourself. What are some ways that you show self-love and self-care to yourself?
[DEVON]: I love this question. I would say giving myself the space and time to make sure that I know what I'm feeling, and that means to me stepping away from friends if I need to, stepping away from partying, stepping away from social media and just making sure that I'm in tune with my emotions. I think that's the most important form of self-care for me.
[UNPUBLISHED]: How was your experience filming the music video for “Call U After Rehab?”
[DEVON]: We shot the visualizer for it three days ago now and it was great. I hope that the music video feels like a warm hug or a deep breath. There are lots of childlike wonders in the music video because in the therapy that I've been doing, there's been a lot of inner child work, so I wanted to make sure that was a big part of the video.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What message, emotions or story are you trying to portray with this body of work?
[DEVON]: What message I would love people to know that they're not alone in their self help journeys. I would love people to know that it's okay to show up for yourself and make a hard decision for the better in the long run. I just think it's a sonically beautiful song and I'm very proud of the lyrics and I just think it's a nice, calm listen.
[UNPUBLISHED]: You're about to open for the Valley in April. What is your favorite part of performing live?
[DEVON]: I love bantering with the crowd. I love getting to meet fans, that's my favorite part. It's been really really gratifying to see the shows that I've been able to do and I can't wait to meet more people on the road.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Do you have any pre-show or post-show rituals to help ensure that you play your best show and help combat any anxiety you may face?
[DEVON]: I like to check in with my bandmates to make sure that they're feeling okay and spending time with them backstage and amping ourselves up.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What is your favorite song to perform and why?
[DEVON]: My favorite song to perform is the first song that I ever released called “July for the Whole Year.” It's my favorite song because I think it's a lot of my fans' favorite actually, and it's just really fun to hear it being sung back to me. It feels like I'm a bigger pop star than I am when they know the lyrics, so that's my favorite one to sing.
[UNPUBLISHED]: When you're not making music or in the studio, what do you do to help inspire or channel your creativity?
[DEVON]: I scroll on Pinterest. I'm a Pinterest girl through and through. I hang out with my friends and draw inspiration from their relationships and their trials and tribulations as well. I spent a lot of time with my mom. I love going on walks and trying to keep an ear open to whatever conversations are happening on the streets, like I was just walking the other day in Santa Monica and some some person was talking about dodging a bullet and that's just a phrase that I wrote down. Just keeping an ear to the pavement.
[UNPUBLISHED]: You're recently named “Breakthrough Artist of the Year” and you've been nominated for a Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award for “Favorite Breakthrough Artist.” Did you ever think you would get such a huge response from listeners and how's that feeling?
[DEVON]: It's a milestone that I always hoped would happen, but not one that I expected to happen so quickly. I'm just overwhelmed with gratitude about it. I'm really excited. I'm honored to even be nominated, and it's honestly very validating to just be recognized in that way and I hope it's the first of many.
[UNPUBLISHED]: “Call U After Rehab” was created during a super vulnerable moment in your life and it touches on a very intimate experience. How does this affect the process of creating your music and has this helped you express any feelings with your lyrics or let off any steam?
[DEVON]: Yes, the song was very healing for me and is very healing for me writing it and producing it out and recording the vocals for it. It's been a very healing journey for me. I would say that this song feels a lot like ripping off a band-aid that's been there for a long time. It is the first song on my artist project where I think I'm being really vulnerable. I'm typically very quirky and raunchy and my lyrics, but this does feel like one big, deep breath for me and it's scary. I think it's really important to do scary things as an artist and to release songs that are scary.
[UNPUBLISHED]: How are you feeling in this current era of your career and what does the rest of the year look like that you would like to share with Unpublished?
[DEVON]: I'm feeling overjoyed that this is the first song of a rollout of new music that I wrote last year, so it feels like the tipping-off point of lots of new music for this year. I'm just very excited about all the things that are going on. It's my first tour. It's my first couple nominations, and it's all very, very exciting and I'm just trying to take it all in and keep grinding every day because I know how much further I'd like to go but it's been a very exciting time for sure. I just can't wait for what's to come. There's an EP on the horizon, and lots of really fun music to come.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What can listeners expect from you from this new era of yours that you're stepping into?
[DEVON]: I think they can expect songs that are a lot more me. I used to write songs to prove to myself that I could, but they weren't necessarily songs that had to do with my life, or things that really resonate. I'm excited for people to get to know my personality but through these more personal songs.
