Music is really able to connect with people in multiple ways. Some people may use music to study, others may use it to unwind, and some appreciate the melodies and composition. What we all have in common, though, is that we enjoy music. Sometimes, when I listen to music, I find myself getting lost in it. Scenarios and stories begin to swim through my head, the melodies wash over me like a blanket, and there are songs that strike me to my core.

Lately, I’ve become more attuned to sentimental, emotional music. This is, in part, due to circumstances I’ve endured on a personal level, and listening to this music has made me feel a little less alone and has helped me feel better and come to terms with certain situations. One of the artists who has helped me understand these situations is MICO, an artist from Toronto, Canada, who’s known for hits such as “HOMESICK,” “TV,” “cut my hair,” and “Senses.” I discovered MICO in mid-to-late 2024, before really getting into him in 2025. I’ve been to two of his shows; I’ve gotten to meet him and get photos with him both times. These experiences have deepened my love and appreciation for both him and his music.

When looking through his discography, MICO does not shy away from exploring the hardships that come with relationships. He also isn’t afraid to highlight the toxicity that can come from them. In “TV,” MICO discusses Imposter Syndrome, and he highlights how that might feel, with his chorus, in particular, hitting that subject:

Tell me I’m a loser, tell me I’m a fraud

Nothin’ but a kid in his bed with a guitar […]

Just another one-hit wonder motherfucker, living the dream

Tryna be the bands I never saw on TV (TV 0:40)

Similarly, in “Senses,” he highlights that feeling of Imposter Syndrome, but in the context of relationships—feeling like you’re not good enough for your partner and worrying that they’ll realize this and leave you:

‘Cause honestly, you deserve everything that I’m not, oh

Someday I know you’ll come to your senses

And leave me alone with all of my questions […]

I know that you’ll never be mine

But I’ll always be yours” (Senses 0:24)

MICO knows how to weave narratives about different situations within relationships into his music. For me, some songs of his that hit the hardest and make me feel seen are “Ever After (feat. eaJ),” “Deserve this,” “another soul,” and “Idontwannaknowyou!” These songs hit at the core of reflecting on someone you knew before, and they encourage listeners to understand what their role in a past relationship was and where it has left them now. While some people may view and listen to these songs as talking about romantic relationships, I can’t stop myself from associating them with platonic relationships.

One of the toughest challenges I’ve had to endure recently is letting go of a seven-year-long friendship after feeling as though my friend was putting me on the back burner. I felt like I was the second option for hanging out—if I even was an option—as they often opted to hang out with a different friend that I introduced them to. I also felt like I couldn’t talk with this friend about anything except what they wanted to talk about, and they often told me to stop talking about my interests or to leave. For the longest time, I couldn’t put into words what happened to me on an emotional level, or explain how what happened to me made me feel. For a while, all I could say was, “It made me really sad. How I was treated really hurt me. I don’t understand why this happened.” After I let the friendship go, I started listening to MICO, and the more I listened to him, the more I found myself relating to his lyrics and finally finding the words to explain how I felt. His music opened my eyes and helped me understand how I felt in the moment, and how I feel reflecting on it all now.

“Ever After (feat. eaJ)” depicts a classic narrative of two people not being destined to be together. This is portrayed through an analogy of actors on a set, bringing up how “All the critics agree that the casting’s odd” (Ever After 1:05). This song continues pushing this analogy as it discusses how this partnership is “straying from the plot” (1:12). The narrator claims this relationship isn’t meant to last, but their partner keeps persisting, crossing boundaries in the process. Because of this, damage is done, and blame is shifted. Eventually, the narrator decides to let the relationship go after “watching reruns of old mistakes,” in which their partner continues insisting there can be change. From their, our narrator decides “that’s a final take,” thus “closing the chapter” because nothing should “scream ‘ever after’” (2:03). “Ever After (feat. eaJ)” is a song that helped me understand that it’s okay to close chapters and turn the page. Not everything is meant to last, and that’s okay. You’re allowed to let things come to an end but still be grateful that you knew a person.

One of the biggest challenges I experienced when dealing with my old friend was letting them go because of how long we had been friends. My other friends would often ask me why I hadn’t let them go, and I would always tell them, “I don’t know,” or “Well, we’ve been friends for so long…” The night I finally made up my mind to let the friendship go felt so freeing. It felt like everything would be okay. When listening to “Ever After (feat. eaJ),” I feel heard, as I’m not the only one who’s struggled to let go of a relationship. This song is the voice that 2024 me needed, and I’m grateful to have found it.

“Deserve this” shows the before and after of a relationship: a honeymoon and falling out phase, if you will. As the honeymoon phase suggests, things seem just right at first; the narrator and their partner are inseparable, they can’t seem to be away from each other, and they’re making memories that seem like they’ll last a lifetime. Unfortunately, as time passes, that honeymoon phase slips away. Sometimes things don’t work out. This can be seen with lines like, “We used to be untouchable, now it’s just uncomfortable / […] / It used to be like ecstasy, now you’ll be the death of me” (Deserve this 0:28). It doesn’t end there, as now we get to see what the aftermath of their relationship looks like. Mixed feelings flood the narrator’s system as they say, “Yeah, I guess I’m happy you’re finally fine / But it’s hard to want the best for you” (1:20), while simultaneously thinking, whether intentionally or not, “I’m just mad it isn’t me you think deserves it / No, I don’t deserve this” (1:53). Despite everything that’s happened, it’s only natural, and okay, to feel a mix of emotions after a breakup.

“Deserve this” is one of those songs that allowed those guilty, maybe selfish, feelings that I had to be understood. When I was being put to the side (or more so, watching how I was being left out by my friends on their Snapchat stories), it hurt. I would initially be thinking, “I don’t deserve this, this isn’t fair.” However, that voice would soon be overpowered by a louder voice, saying, “They’re allowed to hang out. They’re friends, too.” That first voice still cried within me silently, though, and she struggled to be heard.

MICO’s music found that first voice, and it pulled her to the surface, allowing her to cry and let the pain out that she harbored inside. He helped me to realize that I didn’t deserve the treatment I got. He allowed me to feel the pain and anger I didn’t know how to feel or show during that time. Even then, I’m still happy that those friends still hang out, but at the same time, “I’m just mad it isn’t me you think deserves it / No, I don’t deserve this” (1:53).

A little bit deeper song, called “another soul,” focuses on the unrequited love that some people may experience. We witness how the narrator of “another soul” is trying to be there for his friend and trying to make her realize how deep his feelings of affection go, but she’s “too caught up ‘tryna notice him noticing [her] / To see the way [he’s] been giving too much” (another soul 0:07). We come to understand how much time and space this girl takes up in our narrator’s life as he tries so hard to figure out what she wants. He wonders if there’s a chance for him to be there for her as more than a friend. Unfortunately, unrequited love is occurring for both parties as she’s:

[…] too caught up on the drama from yesterday

While [he’s] thinking ‘bout everything [they] have […]

Using all [his] nights

Spend[ing] every second wondering ‘bout the heights

Wast[ing] all [his] time ignoring all the clear signs (0:44)

Unfortunately, after this, the narrator realizes that his feelings for this girl are unrequited, and doubts start to swirl, as he begins to understand:

I needed someone who cared

You needed somebody there […]

I wish I left it alone

‘Cause now I’m needing to know

Was I the one, or just a fill-in for another soul? (1:22)

Despite this realization, there’s still a desperate desire to cling to that last shred of hope, before the narrator ultimately needs that question answered: “Was I the one, or just a fill-in for another soul” (2:31)?

When I was going through the peak of my issues with my old friend—when I was often left out of hangouts, or was a backup option in case their first plans fell through—I didn’t know how to feel. I was sad and confused as to why I was being excluded, and I became annoyed whenever I discovered that I was left out again. One of my closest friends told me repeatedly during this time, “You’re not a second-rate friend. You don’t deserve to be treated like one.” She was right, of course. Even still, it hurt and left me confused as to why this was happening to me.

When I discovered “another soul,” the pieces immediately clicked for me as to why this was happening. I would often wonder if I was still a good friend. Eventually, I was able to come to terms with the fact that I wasn’t this person’s go-to friend, and MICO helped me understand that I was just another soul to them. This was the closure I needed for that chapter, and I’m grateful I was able to discover this through MICO.

“Idontwannaknowyou!” is one of my favorite MICO songs, and it has a message that—at one point or another—everyone can relate to, whether romantically or platonically. Similar to “Deserve this,” this song shows us how close two people are when a relationship starts. Goodbyes don’t seem like a big deal; the couple will be seeing each other again soon. The narrator says to their partner, “We used to talk through every night as if the sun would never come / But now you stare until you’re blind” (Idontwannaknowyou! 0:21). Friendships can have their own versions of honeymoon phases, and in this song, we can see a platonic version of how a relationship feels after the honeymoon phase has ended, especially if the person you knew changed into someone you can’t recognize:

No, I don’t wanna know you now

I wish I didn’t know you as you were

We got a little older now

I wish I didn’t know that you got worse

You think that you’re changing, while I’m stuck in my ways

But growing up ain’t the same as turning into a stranger (0:31)

Despite experiencing that initial, jarring change, our narrator can’t seem to pry away from the other person and continues to stay in touch with them. However, they continue to notice the change, as their friend can’t seem to go one conversation without “talking shit on [their] friends” (0:58) or “without a fucked up flex or self-celebration” (1:10). With all these changes having happened, it’s natural to wish you didn’t know about them, or just how bad they were. This song shines light on that sometimes shameful feeling we may have when wishing we didn’t know someone, how they were, or who they’ve become.

Like I just mentioned, it’s okay to let someone go if they’re not meant to stay in your life, but you can appreciate the time you had. MICO opened my eyes to a new perspective on this, and it’s one that gave a voice to the confusion I felt for a while after closing the chapter on this friendship. I was confused about whether or not it was okay to wish that I didn’t know about the change that overtook my friend, or wish that I never found out just how far gone my friendship was. There was a part of me that thought it was wrong to wish away that knowledge of change.

MICO eased the thoughts that left me confused, and showed me that it was okay to wish that we didn’t know how much some people changed. He also opened my eyes and showed me that it wasn’t entirely my fault that the friendship ended. My friend was so mad that we didn’t hang out nearly as much as we used to, but that was in large part because I was a full-time college student who worked two jobs; my friend couldn’t grasp that. MICO helped me understand the exact change that happened:

We got a little older now

I wish I didn’t know that you got worse

You think that you’re changing, while I’m stuck in my ways

But growing up ain’t the same as turning into a stranger (0:31)

Thank you, MICO, for helping me come to terms with the circumstances I endured and helping me to understand and accept my own feelings. For anyone who’s going through a rough patch in a relationship, whether it’s with a friend or partner, I highly recommend you give MICO a listen. He really has a magical way of bringing to life all the different tough situations that can occur in relationships. There’s bound to be a song that speaks to your soul, or helps you understand and/or realize what you’re feeling about the situation you’re in.