Singer/songwriter Chelsea Jordan captures the uneven reality of healing with “level out,” a warm, quietly devastating meditation on grief and hope that finds meaning not in fixing what’s broken, but in trusting the slow process of becoming okay again.

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Stream: “level out” – Chelsea Jordan

I hope it reaches the people who need it most, because you’re truly never alone when it comes to all the ups and downs that life loves to throw at us.

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Grief doesn’t arrive all at once.

It comes in waves, in good days and bad days, in moments where you think you’re finally okay and others where everything comes rushing back. Chelsea Jordan’s “level out” lives inside that push and pull, capturing the emotional whiplash of healing with tenderness, patience, and remarkable honesty. Warm and quietly devastating, the song sits with uncertainty rather than rushing toward resolution, tracing the slow, uneven process of learning how to feel steady again.

Baltimore-raised and now Los Angeles-based, Chelsea Jordan has been steadily building a deeply personal, community-rooted body of work for the better part of the past six years. What began in a college dorm room alongside longtime collaborators Jamie Gelman and Ryan Baer has grown into a sustainable, artist-led project defined by trust, emotional honesty, and creative continuity. With her warm, expressive voice and diaristic songwriting, Jordan has cultivated a devoted audience drawn to music that feels heartfelt and sincere. Released November 5 via Arista Records, “level out” marks a pivotal moment in that journey – her first release since signing with the label, and a quiet but confident step forward that prioritizes feeling over fanfare.

Written in the aftermath of what Jordan describes as her “first real breakup,” “level out” emerged as a necessary act of processing. “I wasn’t too sure of it then,” she reflects, “but I know now that’s the reset I had been needing.” The song moves through that realization in real time, acknowledging both the moments of relief and the days when grief takes over completely. “Some days were really good post breakup,” she recalls. “But then there were some days that crying was all I could do.” Instead of smoothing those extremes into something neat, “level out” lets them coexist, honoring the nonlinearity of loss.

Monday I hold my head high
Tuesday I’m dragging my feet
Wednesday I think I’ll be fine
Thursday, I’m just tryna breathe
Oh, it’s all so green

That tension sits at the heart of the song’s central question: When will the highs and lows level out? It’s not asked for effect, but out of genuine longing. For Jordan, the song reflects “the various waves of emotion that come and go during the grieving process,” especially the doubt that lingers after you’ve made a difficult but necessary choice. Seeing a familiar car or hearing a shared song can undo hours of progress in an instant, pulling you back into the ache of wondering whether you made the right decision. “When I was in the thick of it,” she admits, “all I wanted to know was when I’d feel okay again.”

Some days I think that I’m better off
‘Til a car passes that looks just like yours
Don’t get me started on our favourite songs
Just one line, there’s a lump in my throat
When will the highs and lows level out?

Sonically, “level out” mirrors that emotional ebb and flow. It begins with restraint, anchored by gentle instrumentation and Jordan’s warm, expressive voice, before gradually opening into something fuller and more expansive. There’s an intimacy to the production that makes the song feel lived-in and immediate, as if the listener is sitting beside her while the emotion passes through. Nothing is overstated. Every swell feels earned.

That closeness is no accident. Jordan wrote the song alongside longtime collaborators Jamie Gelman and Ryan Baer, the same creative partners she credits with helping shape her identity as an artist. “Chelsea Jordan, the artist, wouldn’t exist without the people I started making music with six years ago,” she says. Writing “level out” together felt both cathartic and clarifying. “Being able to leave the studio with all that emotion in the physical form of a song is probably one of the best feelings in the world,” she shares. “It was the most honest I had been in my writing, and that was such a relief.”

Oh, I try not to bother my friends
By bringing you up all the time
Call up Riley for a laugh, or my father to ask
For some love and sage advice

Oh, it’s all so green
Just your ghost and me

Some days I think that I’m better off
‘Til a car passes that looks just like yours
Don’t get me started on our favourite songs
Just one line, there’s a lump in my throat
When will the highs and lows level out?

As Jordan’s first single since signing with major label Arista Records, “level out” marks a meaningful moment in her career without sacrificing vulnerability. Rather than announcing herself with spectacle, she leads with emotional truth. “This song isn’t just about breakups,” she explains. “It can be about grieving the loss of anyone or anything.” That openness has already resonated deeply, with listeners finding their own experiences reflected in its gentle persistence.

What “level out” ultimately offers isn’t closure, but companionship.

It doesn’t promise that the pain will disappear, only that it will change, soften, and eventually make room for something lighter. In sharing it, Jordan says she’s fallen back in love with songwriting itself, reminded of why she creates in the first place. As the song cycles through its days, doubts, and small moments of hope, it becomes a quiet reassurance: healing may not be linear, but it is possible. Sometimes, all you can do is keep going, trust the process, and believe that in time, things will level out.

Chelsea Jordan recently sat down with Atwood Magazine to talk about the breakup that sparked “level out,” the emotional honesty behind its creation, and what it’s meant to learn how to sit with grief without rushing past it. Read our interview below!

Know one day
I won’t think about you,
feel safe without you
The little things
Will start to slip from my memory
Watch your face get blurry
The way that you breathed
The way you felt when you
were inside of me
How you kissed me,
consoled me when I ruined things
The best memories are the
last ones to leave, so this week

Monday I hold my head high
Tuesday I’m dragging my feet
Wednesday I think I’ll be fine
Thursday, I’m just tryna breathe

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Stream: “level out” – Chelsea Jordan

A CONVERSATION WITH CHELSEA JORDAN

Chelsea Jordan: I want them to know that ‘Chelsea Jordan – the artist’ wouldn’t exist without the people I started making music with 6 years ago, specifically Jamie Gelman and Ryan Baer. What started in a college dorm room has absolutely flourished and grown into something so special and I owe my biggest thanks to them. We’re doing everything we’ve dreamt of since we started. We’re doing it together every step of the way… the only difference is, it’s actually sustainable now.

Chelsea Jordan: I went through what felt like my first real breakup this year and it completely turned my life upside down. I wasn’t too sure of it then, but I know now that’s the reset I had been needing. ‘level out’ was the first song I wrote after my breakup that really allowed me the chance to process my grief and understand that it’s not going to be linear but, at some point, there will be light at the end of it. Some days were really good post breakup. I had waves of hope on the days realized “hey I went the entire day without crying!” But then there were some days that crying was all I could do. I couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep, but boy could I cry. My body was processing a lot all at once and I came to realize I hadn’t felt that much emotion in a long, long time.

Chelsea Jordan: This song is about the various waves of emotion that come and go during the grieving process. I was in a relationship with my best friend. He was and will always be special to me, but he wasn’t my person. But I had many days where I thought I made the wrong decision by leaving. I’d see his car or hear one of our favorite songs and it would take me back to some of my favorite memories of us together and make me wonder if I really did make the right choice. When I was in the thick of it, emotionally, all I wanted to know was when I’d feel okay again. I knew I would at some point, but I was worried it would take a longer than I anticipated.

Chelsea Jordan: Being able to go into the studio feeling the way I did that day, then leaving with all that emotion in the physical form of a song is probably one of the best feelings in the world as an artist and songwriter. Every single ounce of emotion felt worth it to get this record. It was the most honest I had been in my writing and that was such a relief. I wrote this with Jamie and Ryan who have become my best friends and therapists in one. We could all relate to every lyric and the melodies flowed as easily as the emotion did. This was probably one of the hardest yet easiest songs to write because of that. I had a good feeling it would resonate with a lot of people and I’m so glad it has.

Chelsea Jordan: I hope people know that this song isn’t just about breakups. It can be about grieving the loss of anyone or anything. I hope it reaches the people who need it most, because you’re truly never alone when it comes to all the ups and downs that life loves to throw at us. Creating this song made me fall in love with the songwriting process all over again and now that it’s out, seeing how many people it’s helped, I know this is why I was given the voice I have. I’ll never stop leaning in to every emotion and every person I feel connected to, even if it means feeling the heartbreak all over again. I’m doing it all for the music and the experience.

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Stream: “level out” – Chelsea Jordan

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