Harper O’Neill finds herself missing someone she shouldn’t with the smokey “Guilty.” In between heart-throbbing percussion and a guitar’s soft cry, she yearns for just one more embrace.
It might hurt her, but she’s willing to take that risk — mostly because she just can’t resist. “Who in the world could ever blame me,” she sings. “Knew from the moment we met that I’d be yours for the rest of my life / I’m here to confess that I’m only guilty of loving you.”
A co-write with Jacob Bryant and the Brummies’ John Davidson, the song oozes a blues undercurrent, from the guitar riffs to O’Neill’s honeyed rasp. “I can’t stop thinking about you, baby,” she wails.
“In my personal life, I was feeling really guilty for missing somebody who I knew I shouldn’t really miss,” O’Neill says of the song. “So, I brought in this idea to Jacob and John of being ‘guilty of missing you,’ which they changed into something more fun, ‘guilty of loving you.’ To me, the song is about this overwhelming feeling of loving someone that maybe you were surprised to love, or that people don’t think you should love. It’s about the complicated feeling of being overwhelmed with love for someone.”
Watch the official music video for “Guilty” below.
Originally hailing from Dallas, Texas, O’Neill moved to Nashville in 2018. She worked the local scene co-writing and performing, but it wasn’t until she posted a TikTok video in 2022 that her life changed completely.
BMI executive Jody Williams (Carrie Underwood, Maren Morris) saw the video and texted her, asking to set up a meeting. O’Neill couldn’t believe it. The two met, and she was quickly signed to Jody Williams Songs. To say the stars were aligning is an understatement. She later won American Songwriter’s 2022 songwriting contest and is now signed to Q Prime South.
O’Neill will support Ashley McBryde, Morgan Wade, and Paul Cauthen this summer on select tour dates. You can learn more about Harper O’Neill and see a complete list of upcoming performance dates by visiting her official website.