Curtis Waters Looks Back on ‘Bittersweet’ Ballad ‘The Feelings Tend to Stay the Same’

Curtis Waters serves up a “bittersweet thank you/apology” in “The Feelings Tend to Stay the Same,” his second new track since “Stunnin'” became a breakout single.

“The Feelings Tend to Stay the Same” is concise and contrite, a guitars-and-808s power ballad dedicated to an old flame from his college days. “I knew I was getting sick, and I secretly knew I was dropping out of college soon,” Waters explained in a statement. “The last night we saw each other I planned a really special date. I wrote her a letter, I bought her flowers and chocolates, and I took her to a movie. It was supposed to be really romantic, but I was on a lot of medication for my bi-polar, and they made me really sick, so I couldn’t even watch the movie, I just kept throwing up in the bathroom all night.”

“I was nervous she would be mad or disappointed,” Waters continued, “but instead she stood outside and waited and wasn’t disgusted at all. She was really kind and supportive. It meant a lot. I felt really cared for. And then we never saw each other again.”

While “The Feelings Tend to Stay the Same” is melancholy, the track’s new video is warm, grainy, and cheerful — the singer goes kayaking, wanders through the woods, and goofs around with his brother, who also appeared in his “Stunnin'” clip on TikTok.

“Stunnin'” continues to amass over a million streams a day on Spotify alone.

via Rollingstone