PHOTOGRAPHY Petros Studios
For Saint Harison, the journey from Southampton bedroom vocalist to one of the UK’s most talked-about R&B voices has been thanks to a powerful blend of raw talent, honesty and self-discovery. Raised on towering vocalists like Whitney Houston, Jazmine Sullivan and Amy Winehouse, and trained in musical theatre before dedicating himself fully to songwriting, Harison carved his own path into music with a willingness to be vulnerable long before streaming success arrived.
After earning co-signs from Justin Bieber, SZA, Elton John, and Kehlani, his breathtaking riff-filled performance of his previous single ‘ego talkin’ on COLORS prompted a viral social media challenge and propelled the singer-songwriter’s global reach into the spotlight of American TV with a debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. The release of his first EP, lost a friend, swiftly followed, amassing over 200 million streams.
With his sophomore offering ghosted, Saint continues to refine his voice both technically and artistically, moving fluidly between themes of heartbreak, unrequited love, and self-reflection. “It’s a lot harder,” he reveals. “The writing process has been longer and tougher because I had unexpected success with the first one. I didn’t think it would happen, and I thought it was my first point of discovery, so I was ready for it to be low-key. After ‘ego talkin’’ achieved numbers I didn’t expect, writing this project was interesting because I wanted to follow up with something amazing, but I kept doubting myself and wanting to push myself further.”
Ahead of the release this spring, Saint is set to take ghosted to the stage as he joins Sam Smith in support of their residency at the iconic Castro Theatre in San Francisco. “Sam is someone I’ve listened to a lot growing up, so it feels so surreal. My mom is also a massive Sam fan, and I remember when she used to play their music all the time around the kitchen,” he smiles.
While his early work introduced his impeccable vocal skills and songwriting instincts, ghosted offers a palpable sense of introspection, borrowing even deeper into different phases of his lived experience, darker struggles, and self-doubt in tracks like ‘stuck’, ‘panic room’, and ‘daffodil’. However, Saint also gains a newfound openness as the project progresses into ‘glass houses’, and ‘white to a wedding’, culminating in an emotional clarity that emerges when an artist follows their truth rather than what’s expected of them.
Writing without armour
At the core of ghosted is an intentional stripping back and emotional rawness, prioritising a direct, intimate, and powerful approach to songwriting, rather than embellished lyricism. “I think the key is emotion,” says Saint, as we draw parallels with Frank Ocean’s Blonde and the unfiltered quality of his verses. “It’s freeing when you can write like that and just say fuck it, I don’t care,” he continues, reflecting candidly on the tensions that can arise in the recording studio and the constant temptation to outwrite yourself, finding the perfect metaphor or poetic phrasing.
Much of the EP was written in the intimacy of his own bedroom, away from external pressures and only in the company of his trusted best friend, Natalie Rose Blade, allowing complete vulnerability in his creative process. “Even when we were both teaching in school, we would always just have fun and write songs together, so that was so nice to have her,” he recalls. “It’s really just about being comfortable enough to open up in the room. It’s really tough, because you have to tell someone about your deepest, darkest moments, and then you have to somehow be creative, write a song, and then order lunch,” he laughs, expressing such gratitude for that sense of safety and ease while unpacking the darkness of the experiences behind the songs.
It’s freeing when you can write like that and just say fuck it, I don’t care.
Studying the greats
Saint’s voice carries the imprint of the greats when it comes to skill and dedication. “Jazmine Sullivan is probably my favourite vocalist. When I was 14, I used to rip her songs off of YouTube, put them into software, and just slow down all the riffs and the runs,” he recounts. “I was just so obsessed with her vocal agility, and I wanted to work on that for myself.”
That discipline echoes throughout ghosted, as he describes revisiting the layered harmonies of Brandy and immersing himself, once again, in the expansive artistry of Beyoncé – an artist he admires not just vocally, but conceptually. Beyoncé’s ability to reinvent herself with every release across genre, visuals and collaborators represents a kind of creative limitlessness that he finds deeply inspiring.
He also found himself returning to the emotional worlds of Frank Ocean and James Fauntleroy, artists unafraid of sitting in discomfort. “I’ve been so inspired by many different people on this project. I also listened to so much Brandy,” he continues. “I’ve grown up on RnB, but I really just wanted to go back and just re-listen, because listening to all that old stuff when you’re 29 just hits so differently.”
Making peace with the past
While being wonderfully emotional and universally relatable, ghosted achieves a deeply personal feel, as Saint draws from his own infancy and tough upbringing, one marked by struggles but also nuance. “I grew up in a difficult situation in a household that was not very fun, and childhood and family can be complicated because each parent is a whole side of a family you also love,” he tells me.
After navigating mental health struggles, therapy and medication, the now LA-based artist reached a place of greater understanding. “People are surprised when they learn about my childhood that I am still in touch with family members. I have had to make tough decisions, but it’s important to acknowledge that people mess up; our parents were young. It does not make things right, and maybe you will never be able to see someone in the same way, or they might not get the same access to you after that, but it helps you move forward.”
Recently released single ‘glass houses’ became the emotional keystone of the project. Written toward the end, it filled a gap Saint hadn’t realised was there. The EP was strong, but it was missing the most unfiltered version of himself. The song doesn’t seek revenge or closure wrapped in drama; instead, it chooses grace and a refreshing empathy for human nature.
People are surprised, when they learn about my childhood, that I am still in touch with family members. I have had to make tough decisions, but it’s important to acknowledge that people mess up; our parents were young. It does not make things right, and maybe you will never be able to see someone in the same way, or they might not get the same access to you after that, but it helps you move forward.
Starting again from zero
Before this project took shape, there was another album: ten songs written during a February 2024 camp that never saw the light of day, but Saint scrapped it entirely. “I didn’t really have anything to say yet,” he explains. Living in Los Angeles for only a few months after moving in late 2023, he realised he hadn’t truly lived enough to share what he needed to share, and he had to experience the highs and lows that now anchor his new release.
Determination runs deep, though. His mum remains his grounding force, reminding him not to burn out, but also motivating him to never give up. “It is superhuman, but I just have to do this,” he remarks. “The struggles come in thick and fast, but you have to go back to the why. When my mom calls and asks what is new, I say there will be good news, and that keeps me going.”
Strength found through community
For Saint, artistry doesn’t exist in isolation. Community is survival, especially in the current socio-political landscape. Writing sessions often begin not with melodies but with check-ins and simple questions about how everyone is holding up, and in an industry that can feel relentless, that mutual care matters. “We’re all here together in the arts, and we have to just support each other,” he reflects. “I love Bad Bunny’s performance at the Super Bowl, where that big screen behind him said the only thing that is more powerful than hate is love. We really have to fight with love.”
The singer points to other artists using their platforms with intention, from Chappel Roan’s reshaping of the music industry culture and unwavering support for the LGBTQIA+ community, to Billie Eilish’s denouncing of billionaires’ greed and donations to organisations fighting food insecurity and climate justice. “We should all be watching them and taking notes,” he points out.
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