John ShearerCassadee Pope unveiled Rise and Shine this week, an eight-track acoustic album that she hopes will offer listeners an opportunity for self-reflection.

“Rise and Shine is a record that is meant to help people navigate their feelings in this trying time,” she explains. “Personally, it’s been a reflective time for me, and a lot of what I’ve reflected upon has brought up some dark moments.”

Cassadee delves further into those “dark moments” in a new interview with People, where she reveals that she’s had to overcome abandonment issues rooted in witnessing her parents’ divorce as a child.

“Seeing my dad leave and move on to a new family really quickly was hard. I think I brought that into my life now, where I have this overbearing sense of: I need to be interesting enough and good enough and funny enough and entertaining enough for people to stick around,” she reflects.

The singer cites therapy and a healthy relationship with her boyfriend — actor and performer Sam Palladio — as two critical tools that have helped her work towards more balanced mental health.

But she’s open about the fact that she continues to struggle with self-confidence and self-worth. Cassadee believes the title track might be a source of solace to listeners, particularly during the pandemic.

“I hope ‘Rise and Shine’ is one of those songs that gives them hope and lets people know that ‘Hey, through the darkest times we can get through it,’” she notes, “and we can find meaning in those times and really use it to our advantage.”

By Carena Liptak
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.