COROOK

Why is everybody on the internet so mean? Nashville-based songwriter Corook ponders this relatable question in 2023’s unlikeliest hit, If I Were A Fish – a song bashed out in ten minutes to help them process online bullying.

- Jenna Scaramanga

Corook explains how the song’s title originated with their partner Olivia Barton. “I told Olivia, ‘Play something that you’ve never played on an instrument that you don’t know. She kept hitting the same two notes on my little Yamaha synth. Then she sang, ‘If I were a fish…’ I said, ‘I love that! Let’s start there.’ Corook kept Olivia’s two-note groove when they picked up the guitar, which is why the acoustic guitar plays only powerchords.

The 49-second TikTok was all they had written, but the reaction was so huge it was clear that If