On Sorry, Kid, Johanna Samuels Can See the Future. It’s Full of Pals.
By : Josh Kitchen / August 13, 2026
“I can see the future. It’s full of pals.” Those prescient words were spoken by Tim Robinson in his 2025 dark comedy Friendship, about a man who so desperately craves friendship that he’ll sacrifice all social norms in pursuit of it. It’s a heightened take on how difficult finding and securing real human connection has become for so many of us.
For Johanna Samuels, the future really is full of pals. On her new album, Sorry, Kid, she looks back at versions of herself who couldn’t have known the kind of community and acceptance waiting for them on the other side of growing up. And that idea exists not only in the songs themselves, but in the people playing them: a collection of old memories brought to life alongside the friends and collaborators who surround Samuels today.
From the early-aughts nostalgic argument of “Blue vs. Pinkerton,” to the Beach Boys-inspired “Full Story” with Jordan Lehning, the Tyler Ballgame-assisted “Circles,” and “Rare (The Runner Song) ft. Madison Cunningham," Samuels invites us into songs new and old with the help of musicians who have become part of her world, creating an album that feels as familiar as it does newly alive. Indie-music wunderkind Jonathan Rado lends his production and collaborative hand to a record made entirely to tape, giving Sorry, Kid an extra layer of authenticity you can hear throughout.
“I’ve really been working on integrating that all those parts of me are me, and they’re all alive and well. Accepting them is kind of what makes me me,” Samuels told me, reflecting on how Sorry, Kid is filled with both new songs and songs written years ago. Even the album’s title has taken on a new meaning for her. “Grade 11 (Sorry Kid) ft. Erin Rae” was originally written for someone younger than Samuels, but in revisiting it for the record, she began to hear an apology to her younger self as well.
“It’s so funny because that song I wrote for someone, a particular person who’s younger than me. But the way the record ended up coming out, it has turned into that message toward myself.”
It helps that each of the tracks is glorious in its own right. From Samuels’ shimmering, sunshine-drenched vocals to crunchy guitar riffs, flute, Laurel Canyon-esque strings, handclaps, and everything in between, Sorry, Kid really did take a village, and it’s a testament to the beauty and art that can form from real human connection. I spoke with Samuels about making peace with her younger self, the music that shaped her growing up, finding community through collaboration, working with Jonathan Rado, and, of course, the eternal question of Weezer's Blue vs. Pinkerton.
Sorry, Kid is out Friday! I love that so many of these songs are older, and you're reexamining those stories and memories through the lens of who you are now. Beyond that, I hear a record full of pals and friends. With those two things in mind, can you talk about the way you approached writing and making this album?
Johanna:
I've come to just adore the fact that there are old songs on here. I love that I took these older songs that I associated with different times and people and brought them to musicians that I work with now, and those people are now my friends and family, in the proverbial sense. It really brought me into a centered place in myself.
I grew up as Jojo, and I started using my full name, Johanna, when I started doing my singer-songwriter stuff, but it made me feel a little more in touch with the Jojo in me. The friends that know me as Johanna now, I feel like they kind of know my Jojo as well.
It takes a lot of courage to introduce that other, inner-child version of yourself to people.
Johanna:
Totally. I think it was an act of learning to love that part of myself too, because there's been so much meanness toward myself my whole life. I've really been working on integrating that all those parts of me are me, and they're all alive and well. Accepting them is kind of what makes me me.
Even the album title itself feels like a declaration of apology, right down to the song "Grade 11 (Sorry Kid)." What do you think that past version of yourself would think hearing that from the modern version?
Johanna:
It's so funny because that song I wrote for someone, a particular person who's younger than me. But the way the record ended up coming out, it has turned into that message toward myself. I think it was an act of healing and acknowledgement for the things that I've been through, and then, weirdly, taking accountability for my behavior as an adult, apologizing to someone younger than me.
I'm only able to do that and take accountability because of the work I've done accepting myself and where I've come from. So it's kind of this round-and-round-we-go, chicken-or-egg situation.
What's really interesting is that the music itself evokes those memories of being 14 or 15 and falling in love with the music that shaped you. Even a song like "Blue vs. Pinkerton". I feel like I immediately understand what that song is just from the title.
Johanna:
That makes me really happy to hear because, obviously, that's a very personal song, but I hope that it evokes that everyone has that. Everyone has that period of time.
When me and Rado were recording the record, we really wanted to make it sound like the things that we loved and the things that we fell in love with when we were that age, and to not hold back from that at the risk of being cheesy or overdone or whatever. So we were just like, let's throw spaghetti and have a lot of fun making it.
That's the beautiful thing about the past 80 years of popular music. When I turned 15, my dad got me Blue and Pinkerton for my birthday, but I also fell in love with the music he grew up with, like the Beatles and the Beach Boys. I love that idea of measuring your growth and your life through all these different kinds of music and experiences, and I think this album does a really Great job of that.
Johanna:
Thank you. I love the concept of the soundtrack of life, and there are certain songs that are on that list, and there are certain records that are on that list in whole. I mean, I started writing songs truly born out of just worshiping other people's music, so I always hope to hit those notes.
When I hear Sorry Kid, it's an album full of sounds that I love. It's funny, I was reading the bio and saw someone describe it as "drenched in sunshine," and I had literally written the same thing. The vocals are so lush across the record, especially with all these friends and musicians you've brought in. A song like "Circles" with Tyler Ballgame is incredible, and then one of my favorites, "Full Story," with Jordan Lehning—I mean, those vocals are like Brian Wilson is literally out here.
Johanna:
Jordan's a gem. This is also really full circle because he had this band, Eureka Gold, that I was obsessed with when I was in 11th grade. Then I met him through just being in music, and I think over quarantine we connected on Instagram and became great friends. But I didn't even fully put together that that's who he was. So he had a band that I loved in grade 11, and then we made a record together called First and the Last, the EP that came out before this record. But he, in his own right, is such an incredible musician, string arranger, and songwriter. I think his voice is so beautiful. That was one of the ones where we really just let him free. We were like, "Do what you will," and he came back with—he arranged all those vocals, and he is a fucking powerhouse.
I think Brian [Wilson] had recently died, so everyone had him on the brain and heart. That song was what it was, and then it became this—it just added a Barbie Dreamhouse on top of the land of that song. I love that song, and it's one of my favorites on the record, much to do with how much he brought to it.
It's such a pleasant sound that people are gonna go nuts for. Then a song like "Two People, The Moon" has these heavy, chunky riffs. There are so many different sounds across this record, and I feel like people are going to find so much to enjoy in it.
Johanna:
Damn, thank you. I feel like Rado and I have this similar palette. I can literally compartmentalize the songs on the record and put them in piles. There's a '90s/aughts pile, and there's a '60s, '70s, Beatles, Beach Boys, just like a vintage sound. I've always tried to write aiming to be as powerful as the songwriters of the '60s and '70s, at least standing on the shoulders of them. That's always been a goal of mine.
I've also worshiped so many '90s artists and sounds. Aimee Mann was a huge influence on me, and I feel like Elliott [Smith] is just an indelible part of my bones at this point, to the point where I hope that they all merge into a place that feels cool. Even Elliott talked about how he loved those '70s ballads. He loved Chicago and all those cheesy, fabulous songs.
I feel like when I was in 11th grade, I wouldn't have admitted that I fucking loved Barry Manilow. Now I'd proudly say he's like a god.
Johanna:
Right. Let's say it. Let's just say it! And you can only say it if you've accepted and healed your inner grade 11 kid, because in grade 11, they're like, "No way, man."
Yeah, I love that idea of accepting and coming to terms with who you were and who you are. Sorry Kid feels so relatable in that way, and even musically, you have "Blue vs. Pinkerton" alongside these '70s and '90s sounds. We've become this generation that loves the modern and the older all at once. And obviously, you and Rado together—I mean, how can you not get an incredible record out of that?
Johanna:
Rado brought a whole fucking lot to the table. I felt like it was a pretty magical combo. He has such a sense for—I would play him the song on the guitar or the piano, and he'd be like, "Ah, gotcha." He knew exactly what I was trying to do with every song in a very effortless way, and so often without even really verbalizing it. I just trusted him so much, and it was so effortless. It felt really good.
We built it all. I would play piano or guitar and sing, and he would play drums, and we would just do it live, tape to tape, and then we would build it out. He plays so many instruments, and it was so fun.
To me, this feels like music that you want to go hold in your hands.
Johanna:
That makes me so happy because you put these things out and everybody has a fucking record. Like, who am I? Who's gonna listen?
And you brought so many friends along on this record. Talk to me about this cast of characters, this revolving door of talent on this record.
Johanna:
Damn, I'm very lucky. Yeah, I mean, they're my friends, and I love their music. I think I make music to connect with people, and I don't mean in the networking sense. I mean to reach people and feel like I'm held in a community and understood for who I am. All the people on the record make music that I get the same feeling from and that I really admire. I always feel very warm, and I get a lot out of my friends being a part of expressing myself. I feel seen and held.
Madison Cunningham Tyler Ballgame Jordan Lehning Erin Rae Courtney Marie Andrews
Johanna:
Yeah. And then they're all so good. I think they all have a very specific flavor and voice, and I love the idea of, if you can have all these different voices, bring it on. See what they bring to the table. I love setting people free on songs, I love letting the horses run.
I bet you're excited to play these songs live.
Johanna:
Yes, I'm excited to play them with a band. I've been touring so much the last five years, and most of it has been solo because, frankly, that's how I can afford to tour. I'll hop in the van with the headliner or the bus and just bring my guitar and my little keyboard and do my thing. That's really gratifying in its own way, but I definitely love feeling the songs brought to life with the electricity of others. That feels really special.
You're going to be at Zebulon in L.A. on the 15th of August.
Johanna:
Yeah. Zebulon. And then in New York, we're doing a Brooklyn show at Union Pool with my band in New York. Then I'm going on tour with Mikaela Davis in September, and that'll be solo, but who knows? Maybe someone will hop on and play with me. That happens sometimes when I'm playing with a band. They end up playing on some of the songs at the end.
We're gonna tour it, and then I'm already trying to focus on writing my next thing because a lot of these songs are—I mean, some of them are very old, but they're old to me.
Do you feel like putting these songs out finally has given you an emotional grace or freedom to tackle the next phase of ideas?
Johanna:
Yeah, definitely. So much has happened during the course of making this record, and I'm still digesting a lot of things. I've felt like I want to be in the right place to articulate them because, obviously, every record I want to take a step up in my craftsmanship. I never want to just crank out the next thing to crank it out.
But obviously I do want to work out, in the proverbial sense, my muscle. You know, like, Paul writes a song—I want to keep strong. The exercise of having old songs definitely helped me. It's brought me back to a place where I was using more chords. I was feeling freer.
Frankly, I was stoned, and I can't smoke pot anymore. I was like, "Whoa, you were a little weirdo with those chords." Figuring out how to play them again has brought a little bit of spark to my new whatever-is-next-to-come.
Finally, I think the most obvious question after all this is : Maladroit or Green?
Johanna:
Green! I love pop music. "Island in the Sun?," come on. It's a perfect song. And, you know, the snooty heads are like, "I fell off after Pinkerton." I fell off after Green, but I still listen. I still check 'em out.
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