Singer, songwriter and producer Jared Lee is no stranger to regular readers of Essentially Pop, we wrote about his collaboration last year with Midnight Kids on the single ‘Those Were The Days‘, and his subsequent acoustic release of the track. Now the Boston native, LA based artist returns, this time with the new single, ‘Don’t Wish Your Life Away’, which is not only the theme song for the Blumhouse/SONY film, ‘Fantasy Island’, but also plays over the end credits. Fantasy Island was the third highest grossing film in the world the four day weekend of February 14-17 this year.
Jared Lee not only sang on ‘Don’t Wish Your Life Away’, but also co-wrote and co-produced the song.
‘Don’t Wish Your Life Away’ starts out as a gentle a guitar and piano based track, with enough percussion just to keep the time. It soon builds up to a strong anthemic song, wih Jared Lee’s rich vocals nonetheless taking command of the track. The song is reminiscent of the likes of Ed Sheeran, or Lewis Capali, and is full and complex enough to stand alone apart from simply being on a film soundtrack.
‘Don’t Wish Your Life Away’ comes with a video which cuts back and forth between clips of Jared, playing piano in what appears to be a cave, presumably on Fantasy Island – along with scenes from the film. Jared Lee’s cool vocals work well with the video, mimicking the tide rolling in and out, and the perfect piece for a film about losing your cares on a tropical island. Lyrically too, it is in keeping with the theme of an island where your deepest desires are met.
“There’s a fine line between what we want and what we need
There’s a fine line and it’s getting the best of me
Don’t wish your life away
Don’t live for yesterday
You’re chasing dreams and running blind
With fantasies inside your mind
Hoping things are gonna change
Don’t wish your life away”
‘Fantasy Island’ was directed by Jeff Wadlow, and stars Lucy Hale, Maggie Q, Michael Pena, Portia Doubleday, Jimmy O Yang, Austin Stowell, Ryan Hansen, Parisa Fitz-Henley and Michael Rooker.
You can stream and download ‘Don’t Wish Your Life Away’ here.
Watch the video for ‘Don’t Wish Your Life Away’ below:
You can find Fantasy Island on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Similarly, follow SONY Pictures on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. SONY Pictures Latino is on Facebook, and Instagram.
You can find Jared Lee online on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and his official website.
