Whether you’re starting a new job, a new relationship or letting go of your old self to make way for a brand new personal era, our list of songs about starting anew collects only the best of contemporary pop, covering it all, no matter what your situation may be.
Songs About Starting New
1. OneRepublic ft. Logic – Start Again
One Republic & Logic’s 2018 collab, Start Again, intersperses its reminiscent ballad-style chorus with a powerfully assertive beat, driving their track forward from each chorus’s recurring emotional downfall with the self-empowered energy needed to start again.
Start Again is about accepting your mistakes, the problems you face and committing to reworking yourself back to the roots of your issues.
Logic’s verse reveals an underlying break-up theme, grounding the song in the devotion to win back an ex through self-betterment, before starting your relationship again from scratch;
“Can’t I just turn back the clock? Forgive my sins, I just wanna roll my sleeves up and start again … Don’t know how but I promise that we’re gonna make it somehow, I’m all in, it’s from the heart again, open up your mind and maybe we could start again.”
2. Daughtry – Start Of Something Good
Daughtry’s country pop single, Start Of Something Good, captures a soul-nourishing summertime energy almost nostalgic of late ‘00s pop-rock.
Daughtry’s lush, inspiring soundscape seamlessly empowers his message of discovering new love in unexpected places, giving a new sense of life to both partners.
Daughtry lines his track with the residual misery of a past relationship, crafting his mesmerisingly emotive track around the idea of taking your time with new lovers in order to prevent more heartbreak;
“Everyone knows life has its ups and downs, one day you’re on top of the world and one day you’re the clown … I’m gonna say what I need to say and hope to God that it don’t scare you away, don’t wanna be misunderstood, but I’m starting to believe that this could be the start of something good.”
3. Tracy Chapman – New Beginning
Tracy Chapman’s acoustic pop track, New Beginning, is centred in a mantra-like pulse, flaired with subtle bluesy elements of overcoming suffering. Its message of starting anew considers the concept on both a universal scale, as well on a personal level.
Chapman fashions her lyrics to relate to both independent strife and activism against world suffering, resolving to mend divisions caused by racism and war;
“The world is broken into fragments and pieces, that once were joined together in a unified whole … Now don’t get me wrong I love life and living, but when you wake up and look around at everything that’s going down, all wrong… we can resolve to start all over, make a new beginning.”
This is an anthem for activists aspiring for positive political change, just as much as it is a lifeline for those seeking to reinvent their own lifestyle choices and mentality;
“The whole world’s broke and it ain’t worth fixing, it’s time to start all over, make a new beginning, there’s too much fighting, too little understanding, it’s time to stop and start all over make a new beginning.”
4. Avicii – Feeling Good
On the topic of reinvention, Avicii’s breathtaking cover of the classic jazz showtune, Feeling Good, is a stunning modern take on sultry ‘60s pop, glorifying its original message of escape, freedom and starting fresh with a smile.
Whether you’re drawn towards Nina Simone’s original 1965 release, Michael Buble’s 2005 evolution, or Avicii’s 2015 take, Feeling Good is a piece beaming with unstoppable confidence, pride and self-belief, its haunting harmony embodying the sense of finding strength in disaster and rising from the ashes with dignity;
“Fish in the sea you know how I feel, river running free you know how I feel, blossom on the tree you know how I feel, it’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life for me, and I’m feeling good.”
4. Alicia Keys – Brand New Me
Alicia Keys’ piano ballad, Brand New Me, glistens with the fragile ambience of letting go and embarking on a journey of self-discovery.
Padded with artistically eerie yet mesmerising synths and string sections, Keys embellishes her track with futuristic elements, each hinting at movement and personal evolution into the unknown and undiscovered.
With vocals soaked in soulful passion, Brand New Me parades a lyrical message of finding peace with yourself in the wake of a break-up and gaining strength through your own evolution;
“Had to grab my heart back, God knew something had to change, I thought that you’d be happy, I found the one thing I need … Don’t be mad, it’s just a brand new kind of me, can’t be bad, I found a brand new kind of free.”
5. Colton Dixon – Brand New Life
Colton Dixon’s 2017 release, Brand New Life, puts a Christian pop spin on our concept, centring his track around finding new life through faith.
Disguising itself as an everyday pop track by making no direct religious references, Brand New Life illustrates the act of letting go of your torments, giving up your pride and opening your heart instinctively to a higher power;
“Shake the ground, hear the sound, rebuilding everything you are, whoa, we’re not the same, the game has changed, there’s healing now for every scar, every broken heart … Lay down the pain you carry, it’s a new life, ready or not, ready or not… Just sit back, enjoy the ride, welcome to your brand new life.”
This is a piece for anyone seeking some sense of spiritual awakening, turning to the light to guide their adventure through a new landscape of potential.
6. Bruno Mars – Today My Life Begins
Bruno Mars sets his pop hit, Today My Life Begins, to an uplifting acoustic soundscape, conjuring sublime amounts of optimism within his radio-pop soundscape.
Clad with an overtly inspiring, almost cheesy message of surmounting personal battles and accepting that change occurs for the better;
“I’ve been working hard so long, seems like pain has been my only friend, my fragile heart’s been done so wrong, I wondered if I’d ever heal again … I will break these chains that bind me, happiness will find me, leave the past behind me, today my life begins.”