Originally Published on October 24, 2026

One thing I notice when I watch Stevie Nicole perform is that she always seems to sing through a smile. I can close my eyes and hear it. It’s pure joy.

Stevie Nicole is an independent singer/songwriter and, for the last couple of years, she has started to develop a sizable following on social media. She often performs acoustic sets during live sessions on TikTok and she is open about the remarkable journey that she has been on.

She has released one album, Rise, which came out in March of 2025. Now, it appears she is poised to release another as she debuts a brand new single.

“Stay Strong is not what one might think, given my medical history. I want to give listeners the more rare permission to not have to stay so strong all the time, to have the freedom to break down with a friend who isn’t scared away by uncomfortable emotions or tears.” ~ Stevie Nicole

Stay Strong

Stay Strong is the first single by Stevie Nicole released in 2026. It releases today, October 24th in honor of Invisible Disabilities Awareness Week. It runs at three minutes and fifteen seconds. It was recorded at Sound Emporium Studios in Nashville, was produced by Dean Miller, and was written and performed by Stevie Nicole, along with Dan Dorn, Shawn Fichter, Troy Lancaster, Pat McGrath, and Eli Beard. Stay Strong is an independent release.

In Nicole’s press release, she says that “the next album will be the sister album to Rise, picking up right where (it) left off.” I can’t possibly have an opinion after hearing one song.

But I can have a theory.

I think I understand what Nicole is trying to say, but I don’t hear continuation. I hear progress. I hear expansion. I hear an evolved sound. The good vibes are still there but it is bigger. It fills more space.

For one, Rise is an acoustic album. Nicole is accompanied only by acoustic guitar or piano on each of those songs. Stay Strong is fully represented by an entire ensemble of musicians.

The other big difference is the production value. Stay Strong sounds very much like it was recorded in a Nashville recording studio. The production of Rise is good, but this sounds like a controlled room with a trained engineer. It’s very impressive. The separation from one instrument to another, the levels between the lead and backing vocals. There doesn’t even need to be any production trickery. The room brings out such a great quality to the sound.

The song is heart-wrenching. I think about people like Stevie Nicole or anyone else who suffers from an invisible disability, or a mental illness. I think about that smile that I always see on Stevie’s face. I know there must be times she is smiling when she doesn’t want to be. I know she is smiling so we don’t know she’s hurting. She’s “staying strong” because it’s all she can do to keep from breaking down. It is illuminating to hear her address this feeling in the song. It makes me want to be diligent about not taking people like this for granted.

“As this new music is released very soon, I hope it can be a testament to the type of beauty that can be created by disabled artists if we allow them to create in a way or at a pace that works for them..”

It’s redundant to say Stevie Nicole and people like her are inspiring. Of course she is. In addition to the full-time “job” of being a DIY independent recording artist who is her own manager, her own agent, her own label, her own marketing director, and her own social media director- not to mention writing, playing, and singing the songs, she also has a full time job. She works in the medical field while dealing with chronic illness that often leaves her in a perpetual state of pain.

Bottom line is, I don’t care if it is redundant. I’m going to keep saying it. I’m going to keep watching her on TikTok live on Sundays when she does “Swiftie Sundays,” and I’m going to smile when I see she’s gained another couple of hundred followers. I’m going to like every post and I’m going to listen to every song. The world is a better place because of her. She advocates for every single person around her when every single person around her should be advocating for her.

Stevie Nicole is brilliant. Stay Strong is a good enough song on its own but knowing where it comes from makes it all the better.

Go press play.