Entertainment
avalon Writes a Goodbye Letter to Her Lost Best Friend on “sydney”
There’s something uniquely painful about losing a friend who’s still alive. Los Angeles singer-songwriter avalon explores that specific kind of heartbreak on her new single “sydney,” released October 10.
The track runs just over two minutes, but it’s packed with the kind of raw emotion that comes from processing a relationship that ended before you were ready to let it go. avalon doesn’t sugarcoat it. This is a song about mourning, about regret, and about finally saying goodbye to someone who shaped your entire adolescence.
The story behind “sydney” is as gut-wrenching as the song itself. avalon and her childhood best friend, whose real name is Sydney, were inseparable for 11 years. When they were both 16, their friendship ended abruptly. Years later, during a difficult period in her life, avalon found herself desperately missing the one person who truly knew her, except that person wasn’t in her life anymore.
She began to mourn Sydney while grappling with how strange and painful it is to grieve someone who’s still alive. The song became multiple things at once: a love letter to what they had, an apology for how things ended, and a proper goodbye to someone she’ll always care about.
That honesty comes through in every second of the track. The production is bare bones: sullen piano keys, experimental sonic textures, and stirring guitar layered over drums that hit with emotional weight. There’s nothing to hide behind here. avalon’s voice carries the full weight of what she’s trying to say, particularly in the lyric “oh Sydney, forgive me,” which lands like a punch to the chest.
What makes this track hit home isn’t just the personal story. It’s how relatable the feeling is. Anyone who’s lost a friendship over something that seemed insurmountable at the time will recognize that ache. There’s a specific kind of loneliness in missing the person you could be completely yourself with, especially when the ending feels sudden or inexplicable.
avalon, who’s been recording music since she was 12, has built her career on this kind of honesty. She took her stage name from the mythical Isle of Avalon, a place of magic and healing, and she’s committed to creating music that reveals what it means to be human without pretense. For the past several years, she’s been working with producer and writer Jarom Su’a, developing a sound that prioritizes being real over being polished.
That approach is what makes “sydney” work so well. It’s not trying to be anything other than what it is: a deeply personal moment of reflection turned into art. The track is sad, sure, but it’s also honest in a way that feels necessary. Sometimes the only way to move forward is to acknowledge what you’ve lost and say the things you never got to say.
At 2 minutes and 11 seconds, “sydney” doesn’t overstay its welcome. It says what it needs to say and then it’s over, much like the friendship that inspired it.
