Singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Eddie Benjamin drops the strikingly urgent new single “RUN!”. The groove-steeped new song serves up the second taste of his forthcoming debut studio album, and arrives alongside a music video directed by Mitch deQuilettes (Childish Gambino, shygirl) that doubles as an eerie romantic thriller.
“RUN!” captures a moment of profound flux between two people. With his scorching vocals, Eddie details an intense two-way mental and physical bond that’s suddenly coming apart. Over visceral, virtuosic R&B fueled by subtly psychedelic layers of raw electric guitar, he pleads to his partner: “Why do you run, run, you run away / When our love’s brighter than the sun? / Don’t run away from our love / It’s better when we’re one.” The song ends on a stormy guitar solo that’s as expressive as it is inventive. As with his January single “MANIAC” Eddie once again performs every instrument heard on the recording, and wrote/co-produced the song alongside Alex Salibian (Harry Styles). Eddie sums up the song matter-of-factly, stating: “don’t run from your emotions.”
The “RUN!” music video conveys both the passion and the confusion at play. Between shots of Eddie shredding his guitar, we see him in a bare high-rise apartment in front of a TV broadcasting a real-time camcorder shot of him singing. Soon, the camera captures another figure haunting the space, though, and things get increasingly strange. As in January’s “MANIAC” video, things does pan on the way they are intended for our hero.
“RUN!” also extends the intense emotionality and startling sonic dynamism heard on “MANIAC,” a piano-pounding rock/soul/jazz/pop whirlwind of a lead single that dances on the edge of chaos. Together, the songs set the stage for Eddie’s full-length album due later in 2025 – a coming-of-age set of songs that dive headfirst into relationships, grief, and the innate need for authentic human connection.
A true “your favorite artist’s favorite artist,” Eddie has also been putting his effortless musicality and expression to use in helping others tell their most honest stories – writing, producing, and playing across much of Shawn Mendes’ soul-baring Shawn, working on WILLOW’s GRAMMY-nominated empathogen and, most recently, he has been working on new music with friend Justin Bieber, too.
That recent activity has only upped the anticipation for fans awaiting Eddie’s first new set of songs since 2023’s conceptual Weatherman EP, which not only included the titular hit, “Weatherman” – dubbed one of the “best songs of the year” by TIME – but also Alessia Cara duet “Only You,” which the duo brought to Jimmy Kimmel Live!. That set was a culmination following Benjamin’s star turn opening for Bieber’s Justice World Tour, and his striking 2021 debut EP, Emotional, which garnered widespread praise. As he wades deeper into his powerful new musical era, Eddie is poised for his biggest year yet.
