Iris Copperman Announces New EP, Talks “Bully” and Shares Her Favorite Artists With Us

Article Contributed By Monica Soriano

Photos Provided by UMG / Nick Walker

Recently, SoundCheck had the opportunity to attend Iris Copperman’s showcase in which sang a few of her songs live. We were pleasantly surprised by her ability to convey strong emotion while telling a story. With the release of “Struggle Bus” earlier this year and at just 14 years old, Iris became one of our artists to watch. Today, we are so happy to follow her as she embarks on this journey.

We had the opportunity to get our questions answered by the singer-songwriter. Iris’ song “Struggle Bus” is a song about comparisons, self criticism and inner conflict while her song “Bully” is about empathy towards those who hurt. When asked about the relatability factor of the topics she touches in those songs and the message she hopes people take from them she said “I hope that when they listen to my music, they can understand what makes them unique and learn to embrace their differences. I hope they know that it’s okay to feel lost, but that you are always worth finding.”

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Empathy Leads The Way

“Bully” being her latest release, we asked her to expand on her process when creating the song. Since this track has a heavy focus on a bully’s possible hurting or home struggles, we had to know how she came to write from this specific point of view. Iris stated that for as long as she can remember her mom told her “to be kind to everyone, no matter what”. She goes on to say “I have grown up with that mindset and have learned to understand what may be behind the bully’s feelings.” Something powerful Iris said about “Bully” was “empathy has always allowed me to step in their shoes for a moment”, a very powerful sentiment.

Iris Copperman is able to create songs from different perspectives, she is involved in the writing process and is a multi-instrumentalist herself. During the showcase we attended, she created a space to demonstrate her musicality. Because she is a songwriter, we had to ask what her favorite lyric or lyric sequence is from her song “Bully”. Her answer? “Hurt people hurt people, so who hurt you?” A simple lyric that can universally resonate with listeners. She elaborated that the line stands out to her because “it shows the two different points of view that I had during middle school. It allowed me to reflect on my own life and speak my mind while also emphasizing the understanding of what others can go through.”

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Her Inspirations

Since Iris writes about her life and her own Middle School experiences we wanted to know if there was a song that she found comfort in. Sometimes listening to a good song can be soothing when dealing with hardships, her song of choice was “This Is Me Trying” by Taylor Swift. Iris said that the song “has gotten me through some tough moments. I love that it captures the emotions of feeling lost or unsure and I felt that a lot during my middle school days.”

We were also curious about who inspires this young singer-songwriter to reach for the stars in the world of music. Her list of artists include Gracie Abrams, Olivia Rodrigo, Taylor Swift, Phoebe Bridgers, boygenius, Djo, Billie Eilish, Charlie XCX. For Charlie XCX she stated “specifically her new album”.

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NEW EP: Middle School Dropout

On March 12, 2026 Iris announced that she would be releasing a new EP titled Middle School Dropout set to be released on April 3, 2026. The EP will feature 6 tracks including “Struggle Bus” and “Bully”. The remaining tracks are titled as follows: “Awkward”, “Middle School Dropout”, “Roses” and “Kinder”. The last words she left us with are “I’m always working on new music!!” which only made us more excited to see what the future holds for this talented Middle School Dropout.

Pre-Save the EP below!