After Nearly Losing Everything, Danny Fernandes is Starting Over

Will the comeback single “Dear Life” get him back on track?

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You remember Danny Fernandes. The platinum-selling, JUNO-nominated singer’s Canadian reign peaked in the late aughts, and the robotic, cookie-cutter electro-pop showcased on hit singles “Fantasy” and “Automatic” doesn’t exactly fare well in the harsh light of 2016. After parting ways with his record label, and nearly losing everything to a hard-partying lifestyle, Danny Fernandes is starting over.

“I was partying every night,” Fernandes says, “to the point where I was losing myself, and I almost literally lost my whole career.” It was time to make a change. Now, as an independent artist, Fernandes hopes that comeback single “Dear Life” will introduce the world to Danny 2.0. Co-written by Grammy nominee Jenson Vaughan (Madonna, Britney Spears), “Dear Life” doesn’t reinvent the wheel sonically—the single is deliberately in line with rap/electronic/R&B hybrids dominating the airwaves these days, like Wiz Khalifa’s “See You Again” or “Me Myself & I” by G-Eazy. Lyrically, however, we get a glimpse at an artist grappling with existential angst: “Dear life, you never told me it would feel like dying. Dear life, you never told me it would break my heart.”

Can this single get Danny Fernandes back on track? Maybe. There’s something intensely human and instantly relatable in a quest to overcome, do better, and keep moving. Everyone loves an underdog. And in that sense, Fernandes has never been more likable. Nearly losing everything might have saved his career, but more importantly, it might have saved his life.

Listen to “Dear Life,” in collaboration with TomE and ISH, below.

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