The Girl The Internet Hated | Amy Peters Is Taking Her Life Back

When Amy Peters released her documentary Whose Diary Is This?, she wasn't looking for revenge.

She was looking for closure.

In 2021, a viral TikTok and song turned Amy into the center of an internet firestorm. Strangers made assumptions, online comments piled up, and a promising music career suddenly took a backseat to surviving one of the darkest chapters of her life. 

In this episode, Amy shares the story behind Whose Diary Is This?, the documentary that's sparking conversations about internet culture, online bullying, and the danger of believing we know someone's entire story from a five-second video.

We talk about the fallout from going viral for all the wrong reasons, why she stepped away from singing her own music, how she found her way back, and why her new music feels more honest than ever.

Most importantly, we talk about resilience.

Because this isn't just a story about what happened to Amy Peters.

It's a story about what happens when people decide they know who you are -- and what it takes to reclaim your own narrative.

If you've ever been misunderstood, judged, underestimated, or forced to start over, this episode is for you.

Follow Amy:
 Instagram: @actuallyamypeters
 YouTube: @ActuallyAmyPeters
 Substack: Actually Amy Peters

Watch Whose Diary Is This? and discover why Amy Peters is one of the most compelling voices emerging from Nashville right now -- and why I didn't hesitate to her side of the story.

Don't forget: new episodes drop every Tuesday with bonus episodes on Thursdays! Like and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts to make sure you never miss a minute!

Connect with Amanda on That Nashville Girl Instagram, Amanda's Instagram, and YouTube.

Transcript

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All right, guys, today we're talking about something that I think everybody knows about. And I hate that part. I really do. I wish we didn't. But um, I have to start by asking, what is something that people think they know about you? Like they think they know you, but do they have it wrong? Do they have it right? Or let's flip it around. Have you ever judged someone on the internet because you saw a five-second video? Raise your hand. We've all done it. And we've all lived it to some degree, whether it was elementary school when the girls start being mean to each other, or it was office politics. We've all had this moment. But I don't think any of us have had it. Quite like today's guest, Amy Peters. You've experienced this in a way that I think a lot of people don't experience. I hope they don't. I hope they don't for their sake. I hope they don't. Yes. I want to start by saying I think you're really, really amazing and so brave to tell your story in the way that you are. So I'm so happy you're here. Thank you. Well, thank you for having me and for giving me the space to chat today. I'm very excited. Yeah, well, you um you've just put out a documentary that, like, listen, I I'm not usually a note scroll, but I had so many questions. We love notes. I'm like, we've got to note. Good. I I love it. But you have put out a documentary about something that happened to you. And I think, you know, I really do feel like it's important to set the stage for everybody today that like we've all judged from something we saw on the internet. Absolutely. Yeah, none of us are immune to that for sure. No, not even not even me. I mean, we live in a wild world, but you've now experienced that. And I think, you know, just to set the stage about people, and and I I've told you this and I tell the audience this all the time. Like, I'm a glass half full person all the time. We're positive vibes around here. But I think we do have to set the stage, go back in time to the stuff that happened to you that's not at all positive. Yeah. Not. There's no way to spend that. And talk about what happened to you in 2021. And I just want to say, like, start it here for me. You're sitting in your apartment with your friends, and TikTok comes into your life in a way you did not expect. Yeah. Um, was just hanging out with my roommates. Um, it was just a casual night, you know, a little bit of orange wine, a little bit of karaoke. Um, I was 24 and we're all just hanging out together. And my roommate at the time turned her phone towards me and was like, hey, Amy, uh, I'm seeing this video that's somebody talking about somebody named Amy. Like, do you do you know this person? Because it was a a person like locally. And I was like, oh, yeah, I I I have met that person. And it was it was just crazy to see yourself being described in a way that just felt so out of body. Um, but at the time I I didn't really think too much about it. It was just kind of like, you know, you're I was with my friends, thankfully, when I saw that video. So it wasn't, it wasn't like a big depressing moment. It was just kind of like we were all like, oh, what is this? Okay. A song, right? So the song that someone is singing that you're like, is this about me? Yeah. Yeah. And it was crazy to um, yeah, to to see that because it wasn't. I was watching the narrative and going, well, whoever this Amy person is, like, she sounds awful. Like, I would not want to be friends with her, whoever this person is describing. So yeah, at first it was just kind of like a weird, like, okay, well, this is a miscommunication, and and you know, it's a video and I've seen it and go on with my night. Um, but unfortunately, it did not stop at that. No, the internet, and as we say, we see it all on TikTok a lot, right? We we all say internet, do your thing. Yes. The internet did its thing for better or worse. Yes. For worse, yeah. I would say there's no better in this, in this you turned it into that, which we'll get to. But like, so then this song is out there, and I think it's really interesting what you just said about you watched it and said, I wouldn't want to be friends with this person. I listened to the song, um, which we're not gonna give any light here, by the way. But I did, I listened to it, and I thought, well, this is this is so unkind. And every that that's the nicest word I can say on this podcast about it. Um, is so unkind. And you're sitting there thinking, is this about me? So it was interesting to me is like, it doesn't really matter if it was a true story, not a true story, because then the internet trolls took hold. Yeah. Yeah. And and that is the part that with putting out this documentary and finally talking about this years later, like that's the part to me that is so important to emphasize because it's not up to me to tell another songwriter like what art they can and can't put out. You know, whatever you want to release, like that's on you. But for people on the internet to see that video and hear a song and just immediately make assumptions and assume this is the full story, this is the true story. I'm gonna take sides, I'm gonna go, you know, make sure I tell this Amy person how I feel about what I think that she's done. That's the craziest part, is just the way that, yeah, we're able to see a TikTok and just assume that we know everything about the situation in in five seconds. And I think like our parents always said, you know, oh, don't believe everything you read on the internet, you know, growing up. But and so we all know that and we all think about it, but we don't realize how subconscious it is with like the fast-paced algorithms of TikTok, especially. It's like you're just making quick assumptions on everything you see. Yeah. And it's like that that's the way the algorithm wants you to behave. That's right. And then it shows it to more people and more people. And it's, you know, we both work in a world where we need social media, right? Of course. Like, oh yeah, live without it. But at the same time, this is the dark side of the internet. I mean, honestly, it's like this is how fast it can ruin lives and and do really serious damage. And and it just exploded to where, like, even, I mean, I couldn't believe some of the comments. Yeah. I I did see a lot of the comments because when it first started to like pick up traction, and I was getting like my phone was blowing up with people that I knew personally that were like connecting me to this and people in the industry that were connecting me to it. Um, so of course, in those initial first few days, I was like watching it like a hawk because you want to you feel like you still kind of have some control over it at some point, or at least I naively thought that. And so I was definitely like just reading and reading and reading. And also, it's like there's something kind of like grossly affirming about that. Like, if you've ever, you know, had an inner critic that's told you things about yourself, which I think we all kind of have. And then so sometimes you're like, well, was I right about the way I felt about myself? Or was I, you know, let me see what people are really saying. Like, let me get the, you know, let me get the scoop. Yeah. And it's like, that's so I know now that that's so unhealthy and so like not a way to regulate yourself. But at the time I didn't know any different. So I was like, oh, well, people are giving me information about myself. Like, let me consume that. And it was, it was not good. Uh it like it makes my stomach hurt for you to think to think back to that. I mean too. Cause I think you know, nobody is adept. We we don't grow up knowing how to handle that moment. No, you even had, I mean, a a a very prominent um person in the industry said your your full name on the radio. Yeah, which was which my mom heard. Oh, she's so that was like, yeah, there there was there was a lot of crazy pieces and and parts to that where I I was trying to kind of keep it as quiet as possible. Um, because obviously my roommates were with me when we all saw the video, so they knew and I was able to confide in them, but I really wasn't reaching out to a lot of people for support because I just didn't want to associate myself with it any more than it already was associated with me. So I kept a very like small circle during that time. Um, but yeah, but the people that were reaching out to me, I was just kind of like, okay, you know, thanks for your support, but I don't want to I don't want to talk about it. Yeah, because I think for anyone who lives in Nashville, it's a small town. It's high school. Yeah. And writers all kind of know each other. Yeah, you have the same circles, these kinds of things. So I think there's an element of this that people who might hear the story and think, oh, the internet's a big place. Nashville's a big city. True. Both are true. True, but also a very small town. Yeah. And just imagine this happened to you in your high school, and you know, it was like it on that kind of a stage being set. And then that might put it into perspective, I think. Yeah, for some people. A really good way to think about it. Like imagine this happens in your high school. And the next day you have to show up at high school. Yeah. So you did, you kept showing up, but then I would assume that time takes its toll and you're like exhausted from the world. Yeah. I mean, it was less about exhaustion. I just, I don't think I was in touch with my emotions at all during that period. Um, so it was very like I was just kind of shutting it down and just trying to avoid it at all costs. And I felt like I was kind of going through this maze and running in different directions to try to, you know, oh, this person brought it up. Well, let me avoid them. And oh, now this person at work brought it up. So let me not go back to that. And it was like I I just felt cornered at a certain point. So I, yeah, eventually just like went fully behind the scenes and I deleted all my social media because I was like, I don't want this to be out there forever, like all these comments, and I don't want like the DMs that I was getting and stuff. Like, I just I couldn't handle seeing it anymore. And I didn't, I didn't, I wasn't emotionally regulated enough to like process that with a therapist or like with like actually live through it. I where I was at in my life, I was like, I just have to shut this down and put it away. Which is crazy sad timing because you had just released your album, right? Your daily album. Yeah, the way guys is amazing. It's so good. I love every song on it. Thank you. I worked really hard on it. I love that album so much. So you're like trying to, I I loved your word, emotionally regulate. I mean, honestly, like none of us are good at this. I mean, yeah, not even me now, but I'm better. We all grow. Yeah. But you were 24. Yes. It was 2021. I mean, so none of us were really healed. We were still living nobody was doing well. Nobody was doing well. Perfectly said. So you've got the high and excitement of new album, and then this coming all around you. And you just went dark. You said, I'm out, essentially. Yeah. Big time. And it was, I mean, I have been, I've wanted to be an artist since I was a little kid. Um, and so putting out a full-length album was something that I'd been working towards my whole life. And it was like, I put out EPs and singles and stuff before then, but that was like a very big culmination for me of like, okay, I'm actually doing this. Like, this is, you know, this is a dream I've had for a long time, and I'm finally getting to check that off my list. And this is only the beginning. Um, but you know, I think a lot of artists have negative experiences once they get into the industry. They realize, like, oh, this isn't necessarily the fantasy that I thought it would be. But the version of that that I went through was definitely like, I could have never imagined it being that flavor of an experience. No, it's it is it it reads like a movie. Yeah. It's like this can't actually be happening to real life. Yeah. That's what I thought too. You're like, me too. I'm like, roll the credits. Yeah, exactly. Bad movie. Yeah. Rotten Tomatoes says no. Um so you kind of decided then you were like, I'm gonna, which I just that breaks my heart because you're at the high point of like high point of artist dreams. And then you're like, just kidding. I don't, I'm gonna go pull it way back, close the curtains, and write for other people. All I've ever known how to write about is my relationships and my experiences of finding love and losing love and navigating life and you know, my real life experiences. And so to have put out a record that was so real and felt like the truest thing that I could say at the time. And then to end up having that being used as like evidence as to why I'm a terrible person in this kind of like weird, you know, girl versus girl hate campaign. It was like, I really just I well never saw that coming. And also just it just changed my perspective at the time about releasing music. I'm like, well, I only want to do this if I can be the truest, most honest version of myself. And if this is the price that I have to pay for that honesty, like I'm I am nowhere near equipped to pay that price. Okay, so I wrote a song like one time. I'm gonna say Let's hear it. What's it called? Oh gosh, no, I'm too embarrassed. That's why I'm I don't know. That's why I think I need to tell the story. But I want to put it in perspective for people who don't do what you do. Okay. I I think it's the hardest job on the planet. And like there are neurosurgeons around, right? So Yeah, I would say there's probably people doing some harder. Maybe technically hard, right? But to put your whole heart out there for those of us who don't do it, to then have these moments and go, Oh, I wish I'd written that. That explains so much in my own life. Um, I wrote a song one time, and the boy that I wrote it about um said he heard me practicing it, doing a little tape in my college. And he heard you practicing it and you didn't know he could hear you. I didn't know. And he said, Am I getting red? I'm getting red. And he said, Um, did you write that about me? And I was mortified. I was like, I and that was it for me. That was it. That was all it took for me to be like, just kidding, I'm not doing that ever again. Well, that sounds traumatizing. It was traumatized. I would have been traumatized by that as well. Um, thank you for that empathy. But you I say this to say that like that's such a silly example, right? That like one boy, one place was like, Did you write that about me? Uh-huh. Boys are silly, right? Yeah. And yet in that moment, I was like, never again. I'm never doing that again. You had the entire internet, it feels like, weighing in on your life. You've written these songs about your own life that now people are saying, Should you write them? Should you not? I can see how you were like, nope, I don't want to do this. Yeah. Yeah. And at the time, I mean, the album had just come out. And so I had been offered a deal to write for other artists, just kind of like in the whirlwind around my first album. And if it had been, if that had happened at another time, I don't know if I would have jumped to take it because I was so set in my own artistry. But the timing of everything, I was like, yeah, I'm, I'm gonna, I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna take this opportunity while I have it. Cause in my mind, I was like, my reputation's going down the toilet. So I might as well take what I can get while they're offering it. Um, so yeah, I signed a deal to be writing and producing for other people and worked behind the scenes for close to four years. And it was just always like, I smushed it down, but there was always that part of me that just was like, please, we still have a story. We still want to, you know, do our artist thing. And no amount of like changing my hair and uh going, you know, moving to LA or anything. Like, no amount of of running and avoiding could could quiet that voice. So it was kind of just a huge full circle of like, okay, I'm gonna go dark, I'm gonna try to create a different identity for myself, I'm gonna be a different person that's not associated with these things that people said, and and then slowly shedding that over lots of painful experiences and just just life things that showed me like you can't outrun who you are. It's really hard to do that. Yeah, it's like it's really hard. It's hard to keep that up. It's I think it's harder to to outrun like your true purpose and to to keep running away from that than it is to just stand in it and just like as Hillary Duff said, let the rain fall down, you know. Just take whatever comes with it. Y'all, that's really good advice. It is. I mean, because that's for anybody that has that moment. Like staying in it. It's hard. It's I'm not trying to sugarcoat it, like it's really hard. But uh, but I I just think from from experiencing both sides of it, like it was harder for me to pretend to be somebody that I'm not. So I think that is a lot of weight. But you did it. You stood in it. Yeah. And so you, as you're writing for other people, where was that moment that you were like, I gotta come back into the light? It really wasn't one moment. It was like a series of. I mean, it was like at first when I started writing and producing for other people, I was all in. I was like, I'm gonna be the best employee ever. I'm gonna like get an A in this, and was just like going above and beyond and do everything. But the initial, like I ran out of stamina for that after a while. And the part of me that wanted to write my own songs and and you know, that that felt so natural to me. Um, I kind of started doing that in my spare time and not telling anybody. And then it was like, you know, somebody would be calling me and saying, Hey, where's this demo that you're supposed to have turned in for so and so? And I'm like, sorry, I'm just really busy. And I'm like with my headphones on, like recording some song for me that nobody that I thought nobody would hear. And I'm like, Yeah, I'll get right to it. And it's like it started to really compete at a certain point. And I was just like, okay, I can't. It was just a culmination of a lot of things. And I was like, I gotta just and then Chrissy, who's here, uh, who is my manager and like a sister to me, uh, she she hunted me down. I tried to try to outrun her too. Well done. Well done. She hunted me down and was like, girl, if you don't put out music again, I don't know what we're gonna do. And I was like, All right, I'll try it for like a month. Thank you, Chrissy. Thank you. Really, I mean, thank God we have people like that who were like, no, do this. Yeah, do what you were put here to do. Um, well, and then this leads me to where I have gone down the Amy Peters fan club rabbit hole. Like I'm I'm now in the fan club. Is there a fan club? Because I'm in it. We can make one right now. Let's make one right now. Um, and I feel like this documentary. So you start writing music, but then you also decide there's a piece of this story that can be told from your perspective. But you flipped the script. Yeah, I mean, this was something that I knew was gonna come up again if I decided to step back into music, if I decided to, you know, get on a stage again. I was like, it, there's just no way that this isn't gonna find me again at some point. And whether that's in like an interview randomly when it comes up one day or whether it's on TikTok again, I didn't know. And so I kind of just was like, if I'm gonna put out my own music and be as honest as I can in the music, how can I also be honest with people about what I've been through and like tell my side of the story in a way that isn't defending myself, but is just kind of saying my own experience and then just leaving it be so that I can kind of put a marker in it and then just keep walking. Um, because I don't want it to be a conversation that I'm having for years and years. It's just something that I'm like, I need to address this, I need to put it out there so people can hear it from me. And then let's just like get to the music, baby. Like, yeah, we can have fun. I love it. Well, first of all, your class act. The way you did this, I have told, I don't even know how many people, I'm like, I've I've sent them this link. I'm like, you have to watch this. Well, thank you. It's cinematic. The way you did it is absolutely stunning. It's so cool. I wanted to try to recreate it in the studio today, but I was like, we didn't have enough time. Um that is so fair. It took, it took us a lot of time. I can only imagine a lot of pieces of paper. Oh my gosh. What you guys did, and I want to talk about these pieces of paper all over the world, but it is so cool to me that you were like, I'm gonna tell my side of it in a way that is very like there's no trash talk. I there's no other way to say that. What you did was said, here's something that could happen to anybody. And you put everybody in your shoes, but it's is fascinating to me that like you you did this in a way that I I watched it I think three times. And I'm like, you're there's not you didn't say anything negative. Nothing. I I had a hard time. I was like, how did you do this? You turned like the most negative thing that ever happened in someone's life into like, hey, this really sucked. But we're moving on. Yeah, I think I think that's it. We're moving on. It's like it's I spent enough time when things all went down. I spent enough time feeling negative about myself, about the internet, about you know, and it was such an isolating experience that now I mean all I've ever wanted to do is like to connect with people through music and to create, I mean, you said it earlier, to create positivity. And I don't think that positivity is always like sunshine and rainbow. So it's it's talking about the real stuff too and acknowledging, like, yeah, I've been through something hard. I'm sure you've been through something hard. Like we all have. How are we gonna make lemonade out of lemons? How are we gonna keep going? Um, because the other option is just to stop doing what we love, and that's not fun. No. So, so how did you decide to do this documentary? Walk us through it and tell people a little bit about like the premise of it. Because yeah, it's good. It's good. Thank you. It was so much fun. It was like the world's biggest arts and crafts project, which I love. Um, but I had this idea, it really did not feel like it came from me. Um it just kind of felt like it got planted in my head. But I've been calling my music journal pop um because it feels honest, it feels like a diary entry, um, my my lyrics. And so I just randomly one day had this idea. It wasn't that long ago, it was in February. Um, and I knew we were gonna be releasing the album soon, and I was trying to, you know, work in the diary stuff and how how can we, you know, get creative with the branding? And I just had this idea pop in my head that I was like, what if I took my real diaries, like go through my diaries and pull different entries from different times in my life that inspired this album that's coming out soon? Um, what if I took those and made an anonymous account called Whose Diary Is This? and posted them, basically just like reached out to everybody that I know around the country, around the world, and had them, you know, take these diaries and put them up in public and take a video. And then I'd post all the videos from this anonymous account and be like, I'm leaking this person's diary, like, check this out, check out this girl's secrets, because it felt like a very uh, you know, avant-garde way of doing what was done to me, but kind of on my own terms. Um, and I thought I I was very confident that I could recreate the type of comments that I got, the negativity that was that was put towards me during that whole viral video incident. I was like, I bet I can recreate this and prove not just to everybody else, but to myself that this is all like manufactured. Um, and that people will just kind of like mob mentality come for anybody, whether they know the full story or not. And yeah, just kind of shed some light on how little we actually know about what's going on with the people that we see in those five second sound bites on TikTok or anywhere. Or anywhere. Yeah. Because people saw them and then saw them, saw them out in the wild, if you will. Yeah. Then saw them on TikTok. They started getting reposted. You had so many people like Des Mois. Yes, like crazy. That was such oh my gosh, I was so excited. I mean, I was so excited. All the stuff that people are like, is this Olivia Rodrigo? Yeah. I was like, sorry, girl, it's me. Yeah, thanks. Me, but thanks. I mean, you proved the point. Yeah. Did it? Yeah. So you're like, this was an arts and crafts experience. To me, you also did like the best psychology experiment ever. Yeah. I'm really, I'm really fascinated by why we behave the way we behave. And, you know, I think that experience that happened to me in 2020, 2021 really did send me down a rabbit hole of like, you know, just learning about like why I mean, I'm already a songwriter. So of course I'm interested in like why people feel the way they feel. But that just made me double down. Yeah. And it's also made me like the really annoying friend in my friend group that when my friends are just trying to gossip and like have a nice little, you know, oh, look at what so-and-so is. I'm like, but we don't know her side of the story. They're like, you're no fun. But I'm like, I can't help it now because that's I it's just ingrained in me. But but yeah, I really was interested in exploring, yeah, the psychological side of that too, because it happens like, I mean, I don't know the statistics, but it's got to happen at least multiple times a day for people out there just instantly their lives changed because of a video that maybe they didn't even post. You know, it's like I think that's a big piece of the puzzle, too, is it was that's been something that's been said to me recently with the release of the documentary. It's like, oh, you know, you just went viral from your video like four years ago. We don't care. I'm like, it wasn't it wasn't my video. Yeah. It wasn't something that I chose to share that then had a negative, negative reaction. It was something that I had no say over. And I think that happens to a lot of people, and we just never see the after effects of that. I think so too. And I I think too, like, it's easy to sit here with you bubbly positive, bright, and like, okay, I've lived through it. Yeah. And to see that you can live through it. And I love that. Um, I love a comeback story, which I think yours is like the ultimate comeback story, that you're kind of like, nope, I'm taking my power back. Yeah. But I don't want to take away from the fact that this is this is the kind of negative energy on the internet and the terrible things that people do to each other on the internet that can wreck someone's career. It can ruin lives. Yeah. And it's, it's really like, I love that you're that friend in your group now that's like, hey, but do we know? Yeah, we've got to stop doing this. It's especially girls. Yeah. And it's like there is something about a good gossip sense that's like, oh, it does feel good sometimes, but it's it's just not, you just never know what other people are going through. And I I try really hard not to put that energy out. I'm not perfect, you know, it happens to the best of us. None of us are. But um, but yeah, that it's just important to me to just knowing what I know about having been on that side of it. It's just like, you don't know. You don't know what what the real story is. You don't know. And I, you know, I'm 45. And so for me. Okay, okay. Okay, face card. Continue. See, I just keep loving you more. Um, but like for me, I think about when I was because you were 24. Yeah. When all this go down. 24 when when the viral video happened, but 21 when the relationship that was referenced was happening to me. So literal baby. Let me tell you this. If you're watching this and you grew up in the millennial time where we didn't put everything on the internet, um, we are lucky. We're really freaking lucky. Because I'm telling you this, there are a lot of people out there that would have some trash to say about me. We have all done. All of us. All of us. That's the thing that people didn't agree with. Well, and it's funny when, you know, what when I did initially see that video, it's like, of course, sometimes you have thoughts about yourself. When you're laying in bed at night and you're like, oh, I hope people never find out about the X, Y, Z or whatever thing like that that you're fixated on, or like, oh, I didn't, when that person said hey to me at the grocery store, I didn't wave back. You know, just like the little things, like the social things that we all fixate on. But so when I I and I've had thousands of those things that I've ruminated on. And when I saw that video, I think the wildest part was I was like, this is not something that I have ever, in my worst case scenario playbook, ever gone through because it be again, because it wasn't, it was so far from reality. And so that was like super wild. It's like, okay, well, now how do I deal with this? It's not even accountability. It's not even like let me address something that I've done or how can I make it right? It's like this is just a character. It's someone's complete perception of your life in a very different way. Yeah. And that we we all have to deal with that. So again, I say, kudos to you. You are wise beyond your years that you didn't go out with negativity and fight back. Cause I think that was probably pretty hard. Well, there were a lot of people that told me that encouraged me to do that because it would have been, you know, a boost in my album streams. It would have been, you know, this or that. But I'm like, I can't, I just could not go to sleep at night if I knew that that was how I had gotten up a level. Um, and yeah, it it just wasn't, it wasn't something I was gonna do. Yeah. And I think for anybody who watches the documentary, they're gonna see that part of you that's like, listen, there's no denying watching your documentary that you choose a higher path. And I love it. And so I'm so pumped about the new music because your your first album was so good. It really is. It's just so, so good. Um, so you have a new song out, Soft. Yes. I am so excited. It's awesome. So tell us a little bit about this new music. When do we get more? Tell us everything. Very, very soon. Um, so yeah, where do you even begin? I started writing these songs when I thought that I was never gonna put out my own music again. It was just kind of like a little therapy session for myself in my room alone. And then um, I work with my collaborator, David Kalmusky, who's amazing. We've produced, co-produced so many things together over the years and kind of started bringing songs to him and being like, this might work for a TV show. What if we just work on it just for fun? And he'd be like, This sounds like it should be your album. And I was like, nah, definitely not. And now it is. Um, so yeah, I'm my album's called Bad Posture. It's gonna be out this summer. I'm very excited. Don't have an exact date, but it'll be soon. Um, and yeah, soft is kind of well, I think my favorite changes over as the days go on, but right now it's my favorite on the project. Just because it's my my moment to kind of be to have like a little bit of attitude, which I I use sparingly. Um, but it just felt like felt like a good time to do it. And I like that this song is about uh, you know, just like a relationship with a totally separate relationship that I wrote about from a few years back. But the lyric in the chorus, like it's too hard to be soft with you, also just applies so perfectly to the documentary and everything else. Cause I kind of feel like it's also my way of talking to the internet. It's like, oh, you want me to be vulnerable? Well, it's a little difficult to do that when, you know, because they, you know, everybody says they want, especially female artists, to be authentic and, you know, be vulnerable and be honest in your music. It's like, okay, well, then what's gonna happen when you like take the flamethrower out when we do that? So this song is like a little bit of a of a nod to that as well. So the timing of that is really fun. Yeah. Now I'm listening to it in my head a whole different way. I'm like, you're right. Yeah, well, and when I wrote it, I was not in that, I wasn't thinking about it from that lens. So it's cool now to have revisited it and be releasing it at just the timing of everything. I'm like, oh, it's so kismet. I love when that happens. I love when that happens too. Um, I I really feel like I pause because I have some thoughts about this whole thing that I'm gonna keep to myself and I'm gonna be nice on the internet today. It's a positive show, kids. Um ask me later at a bar. Um, but I the reason I paused is because I've I don't want to overuse the word karma, but I love that word. And I do love Kismet. I love things like this, right? That were like, hey, like, you know, what you put in the world comes back. And I think that you have spent the last five years putting good energy in the world and working on yourself. Like, I feel like you've been really open about that too. That you're like, hey, it takes a lot of self-reflection. Yeah, I've certainly tried. I mean, again, none of us are perfect. It's like no navigating your 20s is like, I don't know if I can say this, but it's a shit shell. You can say whatever you want. And it is, it is. Um, so you know, none of us get out unscathed, but but I definitely try to leave things better than I found them, if possible. Yeah. Um, because I think that's a lot of what being an artist is. I mean, that's why all of us who are drawn to this career path, and you as well, it's like that's why we get into it. We don't get into it because we're like, how can I make someone mad today? Like, no. And honestly, please don't ever be perfect because how boring is. Yeah, literally. Exactly. We need your um raw emotions. Yeah. So I'm so grateful that you didn't stop doing that because you give us words when we don't have them as a songwriter. You know, like that's I mean, that's my hope, at least. Like that's that's why, that's why we do it. Yeah, yeah. So no perfection, you're not allowed. And I think you're pretty close. I'm an oldest, I'm an oldest, so you're like, no perfection. I'm like, all right, gotta go. Oh, girl, same. It gets easier. I will tell you, it gets a little bit easier. Okay, good. I'm glad to hear that. A little bit. Yeah. Um, perfection, eldest daughter vibes, yeah, are real. This is why I get you. Yes. Um, well, I'm I'm so excited for people to get to know you again. Because I think there are probably a lot of people who know what you've been doing, but they don't know it was you because you've been involved in so many cool projects over the last few years. But it is time for Amy Peters to step into the light. It's time. The time has come. It's time, and I'm here for it. So before we wrap up, I want you to tell me something. If you go back in time to 2021 24-year-old Amy and give yourself a pep talk. Because I think there are other people that are dealing with less severe but maybe similar versions of that. Absolutely, yeah. So this pep talk is for you, but it's also for anyone who's dealing with trolls on the internet. Yeah. I think that, oh, let me let me think about this because it feels important. I mean, immediately my first thought to myself is you can work through this. It doesn't have to be something that you put in a folder in your brain and lock and and throw away the key. It's like if you open that folder again, you will survive. Um, I think that's I definitely needed to hear that back then because I just felt like, oh, there's no way that I'm ever gonna be able to work through this fully and and speak about it, or like I would have never seen myself having a conversation like this. Um and I think don't don't be afraid to lean on the people around you that really see you. Because that was also something that I struggled with. I was just I just kind of went into hermit mode. And I actually one of my best friends uh from growing up who I'm still super close with texted me when the documentary came out. And she was like, I I'm so I can't believe that this happened to you. I can't believe that I didn't know this was happening to you. And she's like, I don't know what to say other than I wish you would let me be there for you. And hearing that, you know, I'm like, yeah, I wish I had to. So I think just the more you can trust the people in your inner circle and and let them take a little bit of that of that burden for you, it's gonna just it's gonna just help everything. Um, because you don't have to take all of that and just like lock it away. That's I think that's really good advice. I think that applies to so many things in life. Yeah. You know, I mean that's that's really true. We don't have to carry it all by ourselves. It's hard though. I my my instinct is always like, I got this. Don't get in my way, I got it. But but that only gets you so far. I'm learning. Yeah, you're right. Um, I'm also still learning that. I wish I could tell you that part gets easier. But I think it's really good advice. I think for anyone of any age, it's a good reminder to to try to not carry it all by yourself. Yeah. Um, and I think the other thing that I want people to take away from this is think twice before you put that comment on the internet. Yeah, definitely. Because again, we hear it all the time. Oh, these are real people behind the screens. But when you're so in the flow of scrolling and you're just, you know, your brain is just fully in that world. You're not, you're not thinking about what that person's gonna go do later after they posted that video or what they really meant or how they meant it. So just the more we can kind of like build that muscle, I think, just to just to think think twice before make an assumption. Yeah. So everybody you want to watch this, trust me, you want to watch this. It's so good. Um, it's Amy Peters official on all is that right? Actually, Amy Peters. Actually, Amy Peters. You are extremely close. Okay. Actually, Amy Peters is way cooler. So it's the same difference. It's but yours is better. Actually, Amy Peters on YouTube, Instagram, everything. Yes, Substack. And Substack, which I love. Where are my Substack girlies? Come be friends. Yes, yes. Subscribe because it's actually Amy Peters. Yeah. Um, but your Substack is also excellent. I love this because from writers, we don't always get more writing. So that's Yeah. I love that this is a kind of in the past two years become a thing like bring back blogging. I love it. I've always been a blog girl. I'm like I love it. Let's do it. Yes. So y'all can do what I did and go down the rabbit hole, get all the music, read the Substack, subscribe to all the things. Documentary is fantastic. Netflix, Hulu, Disney, Paramount Plus. Call her. Call her. Um, it was incredible. I think there's more to your story. Like, I can't wait to hear it. And um, this chapter was just the beginning. Yeah, I think so too. And again, thank you so much for for giving me the space to chat and asking so many thoughtful questions. I really appreciate it. Well, you're easy to chat with and easy to like. So I'm excited for more people to get to know you. Thanks for being here. Of course. Sometimes a girl's gotta find her way on her own, free to room, make mistakes.