Aubory Bugg Releases “The One You Want To Lose”

Nashville – At just 21 years old, singer-songwriter Aubory Bugg is quickly carving out a place of her own in Nashville’s indie music scene. Today, the rising artist releases her newest single, “the one you want to lose,” available now on all platforms via Dualtone.

A reflective heartbreak anthem, “the one you want to lose” finds Bugg looking back on a relationship that ended before she was ready and trying to make sense of everything that comes afterward.

“i wrote one you want to lose about being blindsided by a breakup and trying to come to terms with the new normal afterwards,” Bugg says.

Driven by ringing guitars and rocking drums, the song leaves plenty of room for Bugg’s voice to take center stage. She delivers the song’s central question with an emotional directness that cuts through the production: “how come i, i’m the one you want ‘til i’m the one you want to lose?”

It’s the kind of line that captures what Bugg does particularly well — taking a deeply personal moment and making it immediately recognizable to anyone who has watched a relationship change without warning.

The new single arrives as Bugg prepares for the release of her anticipated debut album, i think i had something once, due September 18 via Dualtone. Pre-save the album HERE.

For Bugg, the album represents more than a collection of songs. It captures a pivotal period in the young artist’s life as she navigates identity, independence, heartbreak, memory and the emotional weight of leaving home.

Now with more than 196,000 TikTok followers, Bugg has found a creative home in Nashville, surrounded by a growing community of queer artists and collaborators. That sense of discovery and belonging runs through the new record — an artist looking back at what she has lost while beginning to understand what she has found.

Across the album, Bugg turns some of life’s most difficult transitions into remarkably intimate songs. Romantic loss surfaces in tracks including “nosedive” and “i can’t,” while the album’s title track, “i think i had something once,” looks backward toward childhood. On “i’ve come to realize,” she explores the passing of a loved one.

Connecting those experiences is Bugg’s unmistakable voice — clear, powerful and emotionally unguarded. Her combination of indie rock, folk-pop and singer-songwriter storytelling can feel both contemporary and timeless, with echoes of artists ranging from Joni Mitchell to Phoebe Bridgers without losing Bugg’s own identity in the process.

The Luna Collective offered an early look at the project surrounding Bugg’s album announcement, calling it “a love letter to the things we’d never thought we would lose,” while adding, “Bugg enters a new era defined by radical honesty and emotional specificity. The album traces the aftermath of lost relationships, nostalgia, and the process of accepting change, all while exploring new sounds and collaborations.”

Bugg’s first single and album title track, “i think i had something once,” also earned an early premiere from FLOOD, which wrote, “The gently strummed acoustic tune hits the sweet spot between indie folk and alt-country twang as Bugg ruminates on small moments that she suddenly realizes have become core memories.”

The song was also recognized by Rolling Stone as a must-listen during the week of its release.

With “the one you want to lose,” Bugg continues building toward a debut album rooted in the complicated space between holding on and moving forward. There is heartbreak in these songs, but there is also discovery — the sound of a young songwriter finding her voice, her community and her place in Nashville.

Aubory Bugg’s i think i had something once arrives September 18 via Dualtone.

i think i had something once Tracklist

1. i think i had something once
2. circumstances
3. wasted potential
4. the one you want to lose
5. nosedive
6. still want you to
7. i’ve come to realize
8. just embers now
9. i can’t
10. farewell to dreaming
11. close enough
12. sometimes (i love you)

Website: auborybugg.com