Sylvee Chases Danger with Magnetic Single ‘Hell Of A Man’
New Zealand singer-songwriter Sylvee doubles down with the release of Hell of a Man, a gripping country-pop track out today, April 24.
Following her country-pop singles Ice Grit (August 2024), and Before I Met You Feat. Sam Heselwood (November 2025), the track marks the third single from her forthcoming EP Tender, offering listeners a deeper glimpse into the storytelling, edge, and emotional pull that define this new chapter of her sound.
This is the song that feels like locking eyes with a stranger at a bar – whiskey in hand, music loud, and in one moment you decide you’re either making a mistake or a memory. Or even the song you blast driving home late at night after meeting someone you know is bad news – windows down, replaying every moment, already half in too deep but not caring enough to stop.
It’s a gritty, smouldering country-pop track that focuses on themes of attraction, risk, and instinct over logic. The song will resonate with listeners who love modern country with an edge, particularly fans of cinematic storytelling and female-led country-pop. It fits naturally within country-pop, alt-country, and late-night driving playlists.
The song captures that dangerous, magnetic, can’t-look-away kind of attraction – the kind you know might not be good for you, but you dive in anyway. “At its core, lyrically it’s about choosing a reckless, electric connection with someone potentially emotionally unavailable – fully aware it might crash, but unable (and unwilling) to walk away” Sylvee explains.
During the writing process, Sylvee immersed herself in country influences, listening almost exclusively to artists such as Joshua Slone, Morgan Wallen, Ernest, Ella Langley, Lacey Kaye Booth and Kacey Musgraves, a deep dive that helped shape the song’s sound and storytelling style.
Written primarily by Sylvee (Sarah Ryland) and brought to life alongside longtime collaborator Joel Zaia, who also produced the track, Hell of a Man is one of the earliest songs she penned after stepping into the country genre. The result is a cinematic, character-driven narrative that merges grit, vulnerability, and attraction.
“When I started writing in this genre back in 2023, Hell of a Man was one of the first songs I wrote” says Sylvee.
The track also features Tom Broome and Neil Watson, both touring musicians for Tami Neilson, adding an authentic country texture with live drums and pedal steel.
Adding another layer to her artistry, Hell of a Man isn’t drawn from personal experience. Instead it tells a completely fictional story, a refreshing point of difference in a genre often rooted in autobiography, showing Sylvee’s gift for empathy and imagination.
Sylvee’s single Hell of a Man is out now on all streaming platforms.
