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Date: 5/18/2023
NEW YORK — Singer, songwriter and Longmeadow native Mariel Darling is making waves in New York City after coining a new trend in dating called getting “zombied.”
Darling’s viral TikTok video on getting “zombied” has received a lot of attention from the New York Post and Yahoo as well as a number of overseas publications, including the Daily Mail and others, particularly in Australia and Denmark.
Darling said, “We all know the term being ghosted when somebody decides to leave your life unannounced and disappear like a ghost. I coined the term ‘zombied’ where it’s a quirky little twist on the term being ghosted but somebody is coming back into your life after being gone and I’ve noticed that this is really prominent in the New York City dating scene.”
She released her latest single, “Never Needed You” on her “zombied” experience and encourages listeners to have confidence in themselves in order to allow the right people to be in their lives and find a person that’s going to know their worth.
“This song is an ode to having the confidence to know that this person is not someone that’s going to better your future and better your life,” Darling said. “You never needed that person that lied to you. You never needed that person that would jump out and jump back into your life. You don’t need that person that’s ghosting or zombing you. All you need is yourself until you find somebody that is passionate about you, just as passionate as you are about yourself.”
When Darling first moved to New York, she started seeing a man with whom had had what she described as her first mature relationship. Then he moved across the country while she stayed to pursue her music career and finish college at New York University. They stopped talking for several months and now he is back in New York trying to pursue her again.
“This guy didn’t ghost me, he’s zombing me,” Darling explained. “He left my life. Now, when he’s coming back to the city and when it’s convenient for him, he’s now pursuing me again so that’s how I came up with the term “being zombied”. Rather than leaving your life for good, he’s coming back, and I learned that that’s not the kind of person I want in my life, so that is how the song ‘Never Needed You’ came about.”
Darling has been recording her own music since the age of nine, traveling from Longmeadow to New York City primarily every weekend to be in the studio. She has worked with numerous Grammy award-winning and established producers such as Mike Check of Kids of the Forest, Cass Dillon, and Shaun Bless Owens of SoulDiggaz. Most recently, she collaborated with executive producer Aaron Reid from HitCo Records on “Never Needed You.”
Darling told Reminder Publishing the song can be used to help navigate those experiences young adults have. It’s a navigation to that journey to take the time to prioritize those relationships, jobs and situations in their lives that are going to better their future. “”Never Needed You” is not just a break up song, it’s an anthem towards your ability to be there for yourself and not another person protecting your worth,” Darling added.
This year, Darling is planning to release six more singles and continues to connect with her hundreds of thousands of fans to create entertaining content and lyrics while empowering everyone across her social media platforms.
“To see people, relate to my content that genuinely comes from my heart is incredible,” said Darling. “Reading their comments and understanding they’re not the only ones going through this is such a wonderful experience. My fans inspire me, and my music helps fuel my social media platform.”
“Never Needed You” is available on all music streaming platforms such as Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer and Amazon Music. It is also available on YouTube for those who don’t use streaming platforms. Listeners can use the song on TikTok to make a video and post it on their Instagram story or feed. Find Mariel Darling on social media platforms @mariel_darling and on streaming platforms by searching her name Mariel Darling.