On March 25th @Gold Steps debuted their new single "Jealousy" a dance-y pop-punk track that examines the themes of jealousy and comparison with a particular aim at our obsession with social media. Swemo talked to Betty from Gold Steps to get the insights on creating this song.
Interview
Swemo sits down with Betty | Gold Steps
As promised back when "Mirrored Souls" came out, we were just getting started with new Gold Steps music in 2026! Let's talk about "Jealousy"! The last time we talked you mentioned a lot of your songwriting coming from revisiting the past and seeing what you've learned, how you've grown, and also confronting ways you still need to grow. Does "Jealousy" touch on some real life experience?
"Jealousy" absolutely reflects my love-hate relationship with social media. I think the bridge lyric, "I want to know that I made a real connection, not just a fleeting impression," really sums up how I'd like it to be. When we were first starting out as a band, Instagram was only pictures, and the feed was only who you followed and what they posted in chronological order. Now, our feeds are a third ads, a third suggested posts, and a third of what we actually follow, and the algorithm dictates what we see and when. And the content format has changed; everyone wants to be TikTok, and short-form video rules all. It all seems on the surface like endless opportunity, but now there's just so much noise; I want to break through that noise and get back to seeing what really matters to me, and connecting with people, instead of just brands.
Lines like "Jealousy don't look pretty on me, Comparison, thrill-killing thief" have a self awareness about how jealousy and comparison can destroy us, what are some things that make you play the jealousy/comparison game?
As a woman, social media has just compounded beauty and body standards that used to only be in magazines, movies and television. I've struggled with body dysmorphia and disordered eating for years, and it's very easy to fall back into unhealthy habits. If you watch one video for just a second too long, all of a sudden your feed is flooded with that type of content and you have to actually work to reset your algorithm. For anyone who is in recovery or trying to recover from an eating disorder, the entire "maxxing" culture that's pervasive online is really hard to avoid.
This song still has that Gold Steps easycore sound, but definitely ventures into new territory. Some really catchy staccato vocals, guitar and rhythm section have a really nice groove in the verses, the acappela finish. It was giving me 80s pop! Did you have any specific influences on this one?
Interview with Betty | Gold Steps
Honestly, this one just came together really organically. Zach and I were in a writing session with Nick (Thompson, Hit The Lights), and I had the hook "jealousy don't look pretty on me" in my notes app with some other lyrics for ages. We chose to work with it, and started crafting a riff around it. Nick felt like though it was a good hook, it belonged more in a verse and we set out to write a really huge chorus together. The acapella final chorus, I'm not sure whose idea that was, we just wanted to do something different at the end. I grew up singing in choir, and always loved hearing voices work together and overlap like that with counter melodies, or singing in the round; it sounds like church bells, another sound I love. It won't be the last counter melody you hear from us this year!
Lyrically the song ventures into mental health, specifically targeting social media as a source of jealousy and comparison. You call the online world plastic, problematic, fake, synthetic, and post-traumatic. Knowing how much of the music scene is now pushed to these social media spaces, how do you balance those emotions with the need to be present online?
Balance is the key word; I know it isn't always what a manager or label would want, but some days, it's all I can do to post and then just put my phone away. Other days, I'm feeling more social and take more time to reply to comments, interact with other posts, etc. But, I give myself a lot of grace in saying, "this is all I can handle today, my social media battery is spent," and I close the app. I'm actually a big lurker on Reddit; I love that it's more text-based, and I can read discourse between people. I do look forward to the times when I can truly log off, and not worry about it when we've got more time between releases, which is not this year, haha. My personal page is actually pretty sparse; I rarely post anything that isn't related to the band, simply because I keep that stuff for me. I'll show photos to my friends, but I don't really feel like broadcasting my personal life everywhere anymore.
Do you think music can come back from this synthetic place? Or are we just going further down the rabbit hole? Everyone claims they want something that feels real but we continue to consume the digital representations.
I think people can come back from it, of course. The music industry, we'll see. For right now, yes, social media is the game, and please continue to support artists you like! Don't hate the player, hate the game. And luckily, music is still a physical way to connect, people want to get out from behind the screen, they want to experience live music and go to shows, get a shirt and meet artists. That's why I love performing so much, it's my chance to look people in the eye, have them know I see them and appreciate them. In regards to AI in the industry... ugh. I feel like those of us who reject it will continue to search for spaces that authentic creativity can shine. Nothing can take the place of a true artists' voice. I like knowing that people can hear our songs, listen to my lyrics and know that it's Gold Steps, even when we collaborate with others. And I really think people will rebel against AI music and creation. They will start to search for the imperfections that show a real person is behind the art and the content. And AI can't take the place of live music! Shows will always be a place for us to shine.
The music video features Chicago's When the Sun Sets for an epic Milwaukee vs Chicago show down. Gold Steps and WTSS have been playing a lot of shows together, what's it like working with them and how did their cameo come about?
We can't say enough how much we love and respect WTSS. We became friends after doing some dates together back in 2022, and became really close last year after doing a weekend run together...sharing a cabin in the woods will do that for you, haha. But honestly, we talk all the time, sharing tips and experiences, demos, and just being supportive of each other. Having a safe space to share our hopes, fears, and vent is really important; our friends who aren't in bands don't get that, and having a bestie band has really been life-changing for us. We're always in their corner, and they're always in ours. When the concept for this video came up, we immediately knew the "other team" had to be them. They were so down, their partners even came to support during the shoot, and it was such a fun day. We can't wait for their new record to drop, and we're hitting the road again with them in April, and later in the fall (TBA).