Rachel Cousins Releases Tender Anthem “Nora” For The Friends Who Save Us
Portugal Cove, Newfoundland-based singer-songwriter Rachel Cousins releases her luminous new single “Nora,” a heartfelt ode to the kind of friendship that sees you through your darkest self-doubt and brings you back to the light. Co-written with Halifax-based artist Leanne Hoffman over Zoom, “Nora” is a deeply personal, poetic offering rooted in gratitude and the kind of connection that transcends platitudes.
Backed by a lush pop arrangement and Cousins’ unmistakable vocals — crisp, yearning, and emotionally razor-sharp — “Nora” paints the picture of someone we all know: a friend so radiant, she can’t recognize her own worth. “Nora, I hate the way you talk about yourself,” Cousins sings, with both anguish and hope in her voice. It’s a song for anyone who’s ever wanted to hold up a mirror to their best friend and say: Look how beautiful you are.
Openly queer and endlessly expressive, Cousins continues to carve out a space where intimacy, identity, and artistry meet. “Nora” follows her string of sync placements in hit series such as Hudson & Rex, Workin’ Moms, and The Wedding Planners, proving she’s not just writing for the radio—she’s writing for the screen, the stage, and the soul. You can explore her growing list of sync credits here.
“Nora” is as much about Rachel as it is about her friends. “I know that to my friends, I am often Nora in this scenario,” she shares. “But my friends are also Nora to me.” The result is a song that radiates mutual care and emotional reciprocity—a rare kind of self-awareness that makes “Nora” feel not only personal but universal.
Lyrically, it strikes a balance between conversational realism and lyrical flourish: “Someone else’s perception / can feel like personal rejection,” she sings, naming that all-too-familiar feeling of seeing ourselves through the wrong lens. But Cousins isn’t one to wallow. She uplifts, she restores, and she reminds us of what’s worth cherishing.
At only 23, Rachel Cousins is already a seasoned voice in Canada’s pop and singer-songwriter scenes. Her songs have topped local radio charts, made their way into national television, and earned her spots on stages across the country. “Nora” is the latest chapter in her evolution—one that showcases her growing depth as both a vocalist and a lyricist.
For fans of heartfelt, hook-filled pop with a purpose, “Nora” is the reminder we didn’t know we needed: to speak to ourselves the way we do to the people we love.
“Nora” feels like such a love letter to friendship. Was there a specific moment or memory that sparked the idea for the song?
My co-writer, Leanne Hoffman, presented this beautiful hook to me at the beginning of our session. She has a friend named Nora & had written this bit surrounding her own personal experience with that friendship. What I think is so beautiful is how relatable this song is within the first verse. I instantly loved this hook and thought of so many experiences I have with my girlfriends that related to this song idea. I think about my friends who have had moments of extreme self-doubt or feelings of failure in our 20s, & how I often wish I could let them see themselves from my point of view. Leanne and I talked about how we hate the way our friends talk about themselves sometimes, and that we also know they feel that same way about us. This is the relatability and theme of platonic love that instantly felt when we started writing this song.
The lyric “someone else’s perception can feel like personal rejection” hits so hard. When you’re feeling that way yourself, what brings you back to centre?
What grounds me is remembering that people’s perception is exactly that, their perception. That doesn’t have to have any weight to it if you don’t want it to, and therefore don’t allow it to. It’s easy to feel rejected from someone else’s idea of you or a situation, but when you truly come to an understanding that everyone sees everything so many different ways, you’ll come to peace with a constant feeling of perception. You cannot control anyone else’s idea of you, and the less you strive to change people’s minds about you, the better..
At just 23, you already have such a clear sense of who you are artistically. How has your relationship to your own voice and style evolved over the past few years?
I appreciate that! It feels like I’ve already gone through a couple of eras with my music, which I genuinely love. I think for a while in my career, I was trying to fit myself in a box that I thought other people might approve of more than what felt truly genuine. My early stuff was a little bit more folk & rock influenced, and then I went into a total pop phase. Pop music was fun to write and cool to make and perform, but after years of so much happening in my life, I really just wanted to write about my stories and feelings and let it be raw and genuine. My voice has changed so much over the years, thanks to training, but also just because I’ve found that spot that feels right to my body & soul, if that makes sense? When I stopped trying to sound like everyone else and everything on the radio, I really found a comfortable spot to sit in. The aesthetic & style & idea of what I’m creating now feels very authentic, which is really exciting for me.
If someone hears “Nora” and thinks of a friend who helped them through something—what do you hope they do next?
I hope they tell that friend how they feel. I think we should all get more comfortable telling our friends how much we love them and letting them know how appreciated they are. I think we’re all a little scared to be vulnerable now, but I think it’s important to tell people what they mean to you. Send them the song and tell them it reminds you of them! Just let everyone know how you feel.