Today’s Song: Rochester’s Danielle Ponder Channels Resilience & Renewal in Soul-Stirring “So Long”

Danielle Ponder © Hannah Betts
Danielle Ponder © Hannah Betts
Public defender-turned-recording artist Danielle Ponder she seizes her moment and finds her voice in “So Long,” a smoldering, soulful anthem of resilience and renewal.
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Stream: “So Long” – Danielle Ponder




And I don’t care what people say, I’ll do it my way…

Rochester’s Danielle Ponder is on the precipice of a bold new adventure.

There’s no telling what the future holds for the former public defender-turned-recording artist, but she’s all in and ready to make her stand. A smoldering, soulful anthem of resilience and renewal, Ponder’s searing new song “So Long” burns with a fiery, unrelenting passion: Cool and confident, she seizes her moment and finds her voice in a resounding, charged reintroduction full of power, promise, strength, and resolve.

So Long - Danielle Ponder © Hannah Betts
So Long – Danielle Ponder © Hannah Betts
I feel it when the sun don’t shine
hold my head and I clear my mind to save me
I’m gonna save me
I won’t hide no I won’t play small
I stay grounded I can never fall you wont shake me
You’ll never shake me
and I don’t care what people say, I’ll do it my way

Released March 11, 2022 via Australian independent record label Future Classic, “So Long” is irresistibly inspiring. The lead single off Danielle Ponder’s forthcoming debut album (set to release this summer) is a thesis statement of sorts: A song that says “I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere, so you’d better get used to me.” Arriving a year and a half after Ponder’s last releases with Melbourne band Karate Boogaloo (via Hopestreet Recordings), “So Long” is booming and resonant. It’s not some smoking embers; it’s full flames showcasing the breadth and depth of Ponder’s powerhouse voice and songwriting craft.

She rises in a feverish and invigorating chorus, her empowered words and impassioned vocals ringing out alongside bluesy slide guitars and steadily churning drums:

So long all my fears
I’m ready for the day
if I lose some then I lost them
What more can I say
Danielle Ponder © Hannah Betts
Danielle Ponder © Hannah Betts



I know there’s a darker side
the ones that only feed their pride
Their aching oh their aching
I long for a higher plane
Don’t forget my mama gave me my name you don’t make me
Nah you don’t make
And I when I see that rising sun
I know my time has finally come
So long all my fears
Im ready for the day
if I lose some then I lost them
What more can I say

“So Long” is spirited and rousing: A call to action awakening us from our slumbers, and stirring something deep inside. Through the sheer strength of her conviction and her electrifying, simply spectacular vocal performance, Ponder motivates us to meet our days the way she meets hers: With determination, purpose, passion, and unapologetic verve.

This is Ponder’s first stand, and it surely won’t be her last.

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Stream: “So Long” – Danielle Ponder



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So Long - Danielle Ponder © Hannah Betts

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