Iris Copperman – Middle School Dropout
Today, 14-year-old singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Iris Copperman announces the upcoming release of her new EP Middle School Dropout, due out via Interscope Records on April 3.
In tandem with the EP announcement, the Nashville-based artist is premiering the official music video for her poignant new single “Bully.”
Steeped in her heart-on-sleeve storytelling, Middle School Dropout offers a bravely honest look at a formative moment in Copperman’s coming of age. With both intense sensitivity and emotional clarity well beyond her years, the EP opens up about navigating the casual cruelty of her middle-school classmates before transitioning to homeschooling. Even with the hurt of those experiences still close to the surface, Copperman shares her story with unguarded empathy and open-hearted curiosity — an approach closely aligned with her mission of inspiring kindness and awakening a deeper sense of compassion in her listeners.
Released last month, “Bully” presents a powerful glimpse into Middle School Dropout’s emotional landscape, arriving as a tender reflection on cycles of harm. As with the video for her Interscope debut single “Struggle Bus,” the song’s gorgeously shot visual finds Copperman working with director Jason Lester (Hozier, Ashe) to bring her singular vision to life.
“The whole experience of making the video for ‘Bully’ felt like a dream — getting to turn my middle school story into something real was so special to me,” says Copperman. “It wasn’t always easy to relive those memories, but it also reminded me how much I’ve grown. I hope it connects with anyone who’s ever felt bullied or alone and reminds you that things really can get better.”
Written by Copperman herself, the “Bully” video opens on Copperman walking alone down a school hallway and making her way to her locker, where someone has scrawled “LOSER” in angry red letters. As the video unfolds, she endures a series of torturous moments in the classroom, then vents her frustration by writing in her notebook. Capped off by a moment of subtle triumph, the “Bully” video finds Copperman claiming her own quiet form of strength.
Along with “Bully,” Middle School Dropout will include her first single “Struggle Bus,” a pensive but potent track that journeys through a whirlwind of conflicting emotions and lands in a place of radical self-acceptance. Revealing the enchanting impact of her vocal work, the EP centers on a gently inventive sound and spotlights her luminous musicality — a quality that Copperman has cultivated since learning to play piano and guitar as a little girl and penning her first song at just five years old.
#iriscopperman