Adam Newling Gets Honest About Self-Worth, Addiction & His Debut Album

Adam Newling has built his music around the messy parts of being human; friendship, heartbreak, addiction, love, regret and everything we often struggle to put into words.In this episode of On The Record, Adam sits down to unpack the story behind his breakout song “Sweetness”, including how an argument with a close friend helped inspire the song and why some of its most memorable lyrics came from completely different moments in his life.

But this conversation goes much deeper.Adam opens up about his relationship with sobriety and substance abuse, the moments in his life he wishes he had handled differently, and how years of self-reflection and therapy helped him begin to rebuild his relationship with himself. He also talks about the music industry, navigating big promises, trusting his own instincts, imposter syndrome, and why he ultimately wants to focus on one thing: making music that connects with people.

With his debut album The Bloody Unknown, Adam reflects on how far he has come from the person who first wrote “Sweetness”; and why, for the first time in a long time, he feels more at peace with who he is.

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0:00 - Highlights 0:42 - Intro 02:00 Adam Newling's journey to *The Bloody Unknown*03:58 The story behind “Sweetness”05:36 Writing songs as an apology08:09 Finding his sound through the harmonica09:50 How “Sweetness” was written12:12 What “Maybe it’s bad because you’re the best I’ve ever had” really means15:12 Adam's approach to lyrics and poetry17:18 Growing up reading poetry18:24 Why he doesn't analyse the meaning behind songs21:27 Breaking into the music industry22:28 Why Adam trusts his fans over the industry25:05 The promises and illusions of the music business26:21 Being an independent artist28:14 Adam's advice for emerging artists00:29:56 Regrets, mistakes and learning the hard way00:31:33 Adam opens up about addiction and sobriety00:33:05 “Everything is moving to perfection”00:34:40 How addiction appears in *The Bloody Unknown*00:36:10 Comparing his younger self to who he is today00:37:09 Love, demons and learning to love himself39:32 Where Adam is now with sobriety40:43 Addiction and life in the music industry42:26 Taking responsibility for his own choices43:36 Working with world-class producers and overcoming imposter syndrome47:03 Writing a poem in an Uber on the way to a session48:24 The validation of feeling like he belongs48:48 Working with Richard Kingsmill on the album51:08 Richard Kingsmill's influence on Adam's creative process52:11 Finding his musical North Star54:01 Being private while releasing such a personal album55:02 Mental health, sobriety and what he's willing to share56:19 Why Adam doesn't want to be a social media mouthpiece57:06 The pressure on artists to speak about major issues59:19 Can musicians be musicians without being activists?01:01:00 Why music and connection are Adam's way of changing the world01:02:04 Finding meaning through connection and honesty01:04:34 The meaning behind *The Bloody Unknown*01:05:37 Touring Australia, getting lost and finding home01:06:18 What Adam hopes listeners take from the album01:06:37 Outro & final thoughts