Break out of facades and pretension with the new offering ‘Free’ by Texas-based singer/songwriter Hilary Roberts.
Through songwriting, Hilary Roberts was able to heal and build her self-esteem. Her musical career is an extension of her metaphorical ‘baby’ – the Red Songbird Foundation. The core of this establishment is to allow others to live a life free of trauma, demons, and terrors.
Roberts has gone through trauma worth several lifetimes. As soon as she received help, she recognized she was going to feel okay one day. Since then, she relentlessly put all her efforts into Red Songbird Foundation to enable more people to discover this existential freedom.
Read more in our chat with Hilary Roberts.
Congratulations on your new single ‘Free,’ what do you hope people feel while listening to this track?
Thank you so much! I hope people feel that it is perfectly ok to be themselves! I hope that they will break out of façades and pretension and needing to act a certain way to be liked and accepted.
What inspired you to write it?
After having some success, learning about people that were so locked into having to put on an identity to be OK. Also people that were cruel and rude and diminished other people in the business because of their egos, which really is insecurity. My producer, Damon Sharpe is one of the most down to earth human beings and has had so much success you would never know it. He is one of the people I love hanging out with, because there is no facade. For me, it is so important that no matter what success comes my way, that I don’t let it go to my head.
The ‘Free’ accompanying visuals deserve an entire movie premiere, how was the shooting process, did you have fun coming up with the script?
Oh my goodness, well, I wish that I could say that I came up with the whole script, but that was Eli SOKHN and some of the ideas came from Liz Imperio.
The shooting aspect was so fun and it took us two days to film. Working with the dancers and Liz was amazing, she’s another success story, who is a beautiful person. Then having the battle scene with Damon was great, but I almost felt guilty because he’s my brother from another mother… Lol. And then having the sweet horse that’s supposed to be my Unicorn that I’m riding in my fantasy land.
What is keeping you busy and inspired these days?
Running my foundation, redsongbird.org, spending time with my sweetheart, and our four fur babies, and of course writing music. It has also been an interesting season because my mom and stepdad are moving into assisted-living, by their choice and because of his dementia. So it has been an interesting time for the family, to say the least.
You do profound work as the founder of the Red Songbird Foundation. As a female, what do you aspire to provide to other females that have gone through assault?
I suffered so much from the nightmares of my past, from PTSD, and people I used to choose to date. I had to get help for my sexual traumas growing up and how I perpetuated that into adulthood. I also had horrible suicidal ideation and depression and hopelessness, I never thought I would feel better. Once I started getting help and facing the root problems, my life began to change. It was a process, and sometimes super hard to walk through, but it has totally been worth it! My life today looks nothing like it used to be. I have joy and freedom and I’m not haunted like I used to be at all. I wanted others to have that same freedom, and that’s why I started Red Songbird Foundation.
Could you share the backstory of your life-changing single ‘Fight To The Other Side’?
My friends Kevin and Annie Blake kept pushing me to sing some years back, and I told him I felt like it was too late for me. They kept on me and I finally started on my journey with Damon Sharpe and as my career was taking off, Annie got diagnosed with a rare form of muscular dystrophy. I visited her a year and a half later as I’m touring and promoting,”Back To Life”, She had tried to commit suicide six times, and once I found that out I went to Damon and I said we have got to do something about this. We worked on the song and we got the video together and saved it to present to her in May 2019. She tried to commit suicide one more time in March and did not succeed, thank God. Once we presented the song to her, she never tried to commit suicide again, got help for her problems, became an advocate for MD, and today she and her husband have a place for people to go stay while they attend treatment for alcoholism and drug addiction. And by the way, her husband, Kevin, retired seven years early, lost 40% of his pension, so that he could take care of his wife Annie. They are my greatest heroes.
How did music and singing/songwriting help you in your story and getting through your own life struggles?
It was a way of releasing the pain inside of me, the dreams that I had/have, and to have something creative that came from within me. That helped heal me and build self-esteem.
Do you have a specific artist that you turn to when feeling extra down?
Well, when I’m feeling extra down I actually turn to several artists, typically in the gospel field.
Skokie Norful, “I Need You Now”, Yolanda Adams, “This Too Shall Pass” and “Open My Heart”, Kirk Franklin, “Do You Wanna Be Happy”, Martin Sapp, “Never Would Have Made It”Elle Holcomb, “I Will Carry You”, for starters.
What are you planning for the future, music wise, your foundation and personal life?
We have some songs in reserve and are scheduling them out for release. I will continue to write more music for myself and others to sing. Concerning my foundation, it’s all about building, educating and helping others. We want to be the most trusted name for people to go to for help.
My sweetheart and I are thinking about getting married and having children, so will keep you all posted about that! I want to continue to grow and be the best person that I can be.