The Hidden Gems Illustrates Parenthood in Debut Single “My Favorite Stranger”

Los Angeles, CA (February 7, 2023) - The Hidden Gems is making their debut with alt-pop single “My Favorite Stranger” featuring Crystal St. John which is now available on all platforms. A song inspired by the selfless responsibility and unconditional love a parent has for their baby, “My Favorite Stranger” dives into the mind of a first-time parent. Although neither member of the alt-pop duo has had children of their own, members Robert Murphy and Crystal St. John felt compelled to write a candid song that further explores the internal dialogue of a new parent as they realize their baby is a stranger that will grow into an independent person with their own thoughts and opinions. Murphy says, “My favorite line in the lyrics comes from a friend, actress Marci Miller, who once posted on Instagram about her newborn: ‘We see in colors that we never knew existed.’  We sort of adapted it to say ‘If only we all knew what to do, but these colors are so new.’  There is no playbook for being a parent—you really have to fly blind and grow with your baby, and that’s the message we were trying to get across.” The Hidden Gems have created an enthralling story about the realities of parenthood with new single “My Favorite Stranger”. 

“My Favorite Stranger” was made remotely after Robert Murphy put out an open call audition in search of a vocalist for the demo he had created. Murphy was hypnotized by Crystal St. John's vocal performance and St. John explains, “Robert sent me a demo of the song, and I basically had to translate how this would sound with my voice and my own maternal spin on the song, which I'm not a mother, but I do feel like this was very well fitting because I feel like I'm kind of a maternal personality.” After emailing back and forth for weeks, the duo had come up with the catchy melodies and illustrative lyrics that can be heard in the song today. 

The duo decided to produce “My Favorite Stranger” as an alternative pop song with hints of 90’s brit rock and Motown. As the process began to progress, Robert Murphy brought in top music industry instrumentalists to play on the track. These musicians included drummer Dan Konopka from rock band OK Go, bassist Sean Hurley who has played with John Mayer, Lana Del Rey, and Stevie Nicks, renowned pianist Michael Arrom, Guitarist Leo Abrahams who produced and played guitar on Regina Spektor’s album "Remember Us to Life," Matt DeMerritt on the entire horn section, and pro synth player Beau Golden. With the help of these musicians, The Hidden Gems was able to create a sound unique to themselves. After the song was recorded, the duo brought on professional mix engineer Ghian Wright, who has worked with the likes of Duran Duran, Nine Inch Nails, and John Legend, to mix the track and meld the instruments together. With hard-hitting rock drums, funk-inspired basslines, delicate yet powerful vocals, experimental guitars, and 80’s inspired synth tracks, “My Favorite Stranger” keeps listeners engaged from start to finish. 

Alt-pop duo The Hidden Gems was formed remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic when member Robert Murphy was looking for a vocalist for a demo he created. After coming across a vocal submission from Crystal St. John, Murphy knew he had to work with her. They began communicating back and forth through email before the duo ultimately created a sound unique to them. They look forward to not only sharing new music, but also a music video for their debut single “My Favorite Stranger” in early 2023!

At only eight years old, Crystal St. John embarked on her musical journey. At the recommendation of her music teacher, she began classically training her voice. After gaining performance experience from recitals, school events, and church, Crystal St. John began to write and sing her own melodies. Sitting down at the piano to write music became a therapeutic outlet to process difficult emotions for St. John. She decided to use her voice to help people feel less alone and fell in love with how music could help people find beauty and possibility in their challenges. Since then, Crystal has released several singles on music streaming platforms, including her recent single and music video “Sometimes You Gotta Let Go.” In addition to music, Crystal recently starred in the feature film “Little Town” and has written a book on self-empowerment called “How to Be the Main Character: A Workbook for Becoming the Star of Your Own Story.”