Jay Putty Pours His Grief into Every Note of Uplifting New EPThe Compass: 'Music Helped Me Process' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo:Lina Young

Lina Young

Jay Puttyspent the entirety of 2022 in the cruel prongs of grief.

And the beautiful pieces of the unrelenting grief that followed is what the renowned singer-songwriter ultimately infused into the six songs that make up his new EPThe Compass, premiering exclusively on PEOPLE. “Music helped me process what was the hardest year of my life,” he explains.

Certainly, music has done just that multiple times throughout the life of the man who once was just another Catholic school kid from a small town in Indiana.

“I was a fat nerdy kid who loved anime and Yu-Gi-Oh! and all the things now that kids can love while still being accepted,” he says. “But back in the ’80s, you were laughed at for liking those sorts of things.”

Putty was not only laughed at, but he was also bullied. “I had eyeglasses and one day, this guy ended up attacking me and it shattered my nose and my cheek,” he says of the incident that resulted in the then 11-year-old having to undergo facial reconstructive surgery. “Bullying took such a physical and emotional toll on me.”

Jay Putty.Lina Young

So much so, that Putty was desperate to find something that could alleviate the pressure, and what he found was music. “Really, injuries took me out of sports, and that’s where music came in,” remembers Putty, who also tragically endured a house fire at the age of 15. “I didn’t know how to write songs though.”

He did learn, as Putty would go on to write several songs for artists such as U-Know, BoA and Danny G. But just as he began finding what anyone else would consider immense success, he found himself spiraling again. “I stepped away from being an artist for a few years because I didn’t feel like I was saying anything of value,” he says.

But soon, he would find that not only did his music have value, but it was music he had to make for himself as much as anyone else. “We started writing [previously released] songs like ‘The Best Days Are Yet to Come’ and ‘On My Way,'” says Putty of the songs he wrote alongside fellow songwriters Michael McQuaid and Maggie James. “They had so much hope tinged in them with such melancholy lyrics because that’s how I felt. Even though I didn’t have my dad or my friends or my grandma still here, I still had the memories of how great of people they were. And so that started sinking into the music.”

And now, with the release ofThe Compass, Putty says he hopes to bring what he learned from his own healing process to all who listen to it. “Therearepeople out there who understand the pain that you are going through,” says Putty of the purpose of the new EP, which exclusively includes bonus track “Always Been You.” “I want to give them a community to be able to grieve. There’s no timeline to heal. In fact, I believe you never really heal. It will just feel like some days are better than others.”

And while the music has most certainly helped Putty and his mental struggles stemming from his onslaught of losses, he still finds himself questioning life and the way it sometimes turns out.

“I will never understand why my dad was here and smiling and happy, and in 12 hours he was just gone,” he concludes. “I can yell at God or the world or the universe till I’m blue in the face. But part of life is just not having answers and learning to be OK with that. I always say that grief is the price we pay to love. So, I don’t think it’ll ever be OK, but that is more than OK with me.”

source: people.com