Singer-Songwriter Annie Goodchild Returns As I Used To Be Sam With New Single “Forgiveness” From Debut EP

Singer-songwriter I Used To Be Sam, formerly known as Annie Goodchild, released her highly-anticipated self-titled debut EP under the new moniker back in September. A new name and identity brings a fresh perspective to her songwriting, as steps into some of her strongest work to date.

Goodchild’s new collection is packed with personal narrative, as she explores her family history.

Growing up as a trans-racially adopted child, Goodchild found out she had her named changed from Samantha to Annie.

She shares, “I remember fighting with my mom and saying how could you name me Annie after the most famous orphan of all time?! I was trying to figure out why so much of what made me different from my family was erased.” After taking a DNA test with Ancestry.com, she matched with a first cousin who helped her to track down their biological parents.

With this playing on their mind, I Used To Be Sam embarked on a five-day songwriting trip in Berlin where she met a LGBTQ+ female producer of colour. Feeling as though she was in a safe space to open up, she began to talk about the turmoil happening outside the studio doors. Usually a guarded person, she spoke candidly about meeting her birth father for the first time, and the agony of trying to reconnect with her biological mother.

Her attempts to reconnect with their birth mother were met by re-rejection, leaving her feeling like “I was her dirty secret and a mark of shame”. As the artist recounted her experiences, “I looked up and the producer was crying her eyes out. At that moment the name I Used to Be Sam came to me. I realized that I can’t make Annie Goodchild music anymore, because Annie was who I had to be to get to this point. I Used To Be Sam is the music I need to be writing. I came home and everything shifted.”

Using the paradigm shift to her advantage, her music is evocative and mesmerizing, incorporating lush, orchestral instrumentation to lift up her jazzy, velvety vocals. Focus track “Forgiveness” is a delicate ballad about coming to terms with her family history, and her place in the world and as a TRA.

“Being able to write and release this EP, I so desperately wished I had growing up as a transracial adoptee, has been really cathartic for me. I hope my listeners can take away the knowledge that everyone deserves to have their own experiences validated. That vulnerability is a power, and my music and voice are here for them as much as they are for me. I want the adoptee and TRA community to know their incredible worth and to know that they now have another small piece of music to mirror parts of their lives.”

Listen to the EP below, and check out “Forgiveness” here: