Artist, instrumentalist, and composer Cody Fry seeks to blend symphonic composition and pop songwriting, and his new single, “Waltz for Sweatpants,” is his latest example. The song is set to feature on the Grammy nominee’s upcoming album, The End, due September 15th via Decca Records US.
Written and composed by Fry, “Waltz for Sweatpants” is about a couple who doesn’t care what anyone thinks of them. “We wore sweatpants to the ball, sneakers echoed through the hall, and the rain didn’t help with our hair,” he sings.
Explaining his inspiration, Cody said, “What I really love about being in love is staying at home all day in my sweatpants. That feels like romantic love to me! So, I wanted a song for myself, and for people who feel that way. The song is about two people who show up to the ball in their pajamas. It’s a song for the crazy ones, for the people who don’t fit in.”
The track is accompanied by a new video inspired by old Hollywood films. Set at a prom, the video begins in black and white before the protagonist slowly transforms the world into color as others join her in a quirky dance sequence.
Back in 2021, Cody went viral with “I Hear a Symphony,” which blew up on TikTok, surpassing 200 million streams and reaching No.1 on the Billboard Classical Tracks chart. He followed that success with his arrangement of The Beatles‘ classic “Eleanor Rigby,” which earned him a Grammy Award nomination for “Best Arrangement, Instruments, and Vocals.”
Last year, he told American Songwriter, “It was not my intention to be viral on TikTok, it just sort of happened, and the way it translated into streaming numbers for me has been a huge blessing to my career. So I think TikTok is amazing, truly. I also just love how weird it is. It feels like people really express themselves in super genuine ways, while I feel other social networks have this mask of shininess, that this is my brand I’m putting forward.”