Toronto-based artist Garrett Neiles releases three singles

A student of the early 2000’s pop-rock sound, Toronto-based musician Garrett Neiles released the heartfelt single “Heaven In My Hands” in April of this year. Since then, Neiles has released two more singles — “Lipstick” and most recently, “Ready for You.”

While Neiles is a pop-rock appreciator — his love for the genre even motivated a move to Toronto from Winnipeg — he noted a maturity to his approach to songwriting. Still, he stressed his work “doesn’t take itself too seriously.”

“The way I would describe it [is] … if you had Rob Thomas singing for All American Rejects.”

“Heaven in My Hands,” which Neiles dedicated to his partner, Arden Alfonso, came out of “realizing that everything that you need is there right now. You just have to discover it and see what lies within yourself.” Alfonso also painted the cover for the single.

“My partner has really helped me discover a lot of the beauty and bliss to be had in every day,” Neiles said. 

Second single “Lipstick” sees “a bit of a viral moment”

Right now Neiles is “playing the singles game” until he releases an album in May 2025. Eventually, the three singles will join a larger project. From there Neiles is looking to tour and play festivals. 

“Lipstick,” the second single, is a “new direction” for Neiles. He describes the tune as “upbeat,” “almost like a ‘shut up and dance’ type of rock anthem.” 

“It’s definitely the most vulnerable that I’ve been with my lyric writing and that I’ve felt as a performer. And it’s just a really special feeling song.”

Like “Heaven in My Hands,” “Lipstick”’ was also inspired by Neiles’ partner. Specifically, when she is at her most confident after the process of getting ready for a night out. 

“The minute that she starts to put on those final touches, I just see this switch flick on. It was pretty cool to be able to write a song about that moment.”

Awhile before the release of “Lipstick,” Neiles released a snippet of the song onto TikTok. From there it “had a bit of a viral moment.” By August 27, the view count for the video was just over 28,000. According to Neiles, creating “a little bit of buzz” is important.

“You can’t really predict what people are going to resonate with, but I think that’s what makes our songwriting adventure so fun. We keep setting the bar and we keep trying to surpass it.”

A little shy of 23,000 plays, “Lipstick” is currently Neiles’ most streamed song on Spotify.

Stripping back the mask and the layers

The journey to releasing a new album is a long one that goes beyond just the time spent songwriting. Throughout the years, Neiles has changed his perspective on his music career. For a long time he saw himself as a “musician, as a rock star, as an entertainer.” 

“I found that the more I stripped back that mask and stripped back those layers and just try and amalgamate my personality and everyday life into the actual act or art of being an artist, the more enjoyable it’s been.”

Now he prefers to treat being an artist as just a part of his life. He mentioned Toronto’s strong music scene, attending Canadian Music Week (CMW), going to shows, and doing co-writes with other artists. 

“So I’d say that in Canada — in Toronto, particularly — you have a large population of other artists that are willing and have that same mindset.”