Gloria May Byron Lands the Hook on Hold Me Close Now!, Written for Survivors of Disaster
A Dance-Pop and Hip-Hop Single From an Ojibwe Songwriter on Canada’s Atlantic Coast
Hold Me Close Now! puts its whole request in the title: four words, an exclamation mark and no time to waste. Gloria May Byron released the single in September 2026, a high-energy dance-pop track with hip-hop in the beat and a pop chorus on top. She wrote it for people who have lived through disaster.
Gloria May Byron’s Hold Me Close Now! is in the playlist below, and the rest of her coverage lives on her artist profile. The single reached this desk through PopHits.Co Music Charts, which verifies independent artists and places their releases across its network of music news titles. Press play, then read the rest.
Gloria May Byron Wrote Hold Me Close Now! for the People Who Come Through Disaster
Her own note on the song is plain. It is for everyone who has lost something and endured the trauma of disaster, natural or man-made, anywhere in the world. It is also for the people moved to make sacrifices on their behalf. That is a heavy brief for a track built for workouts and parties, and the tension between the two is what makes it worth a listen.
Byron identifies as Ojibwe of Garden River First Nation and lives on the Atlantic side of Canada, in Newfoundland. Music also runs in the family. Her grandmother sang opera professionally in Europe, and her mother sang too, though never in public. Her catalogue usually leans towards dream pop and softer, mellow songs, so this single is a deliberate change of gear.
Gloria May Byron Builds Hold Me Close Now! on Dance Beats, Hip-Hop and Two Credited Voices
The pieces are easy to name. Dance beats drive the track, hip-hop shapes the rhythm, and a pop chorus sits on top. Byron’s own tags for the song read the same way: EDM, hip hop, viral dance music.
The credits, however, add a detail. Spotify lists two vocal parts, one credited to Gwen and one to Gloria. The single also runs four minutes and 44 seconds, long by dance-pop standards. The tempo is upbeat, and that is the point: the comfort in the title arrives at full speed.
That pairing of a bright tempo with a heavy subject has a history. When an earthquake struck Haiti in 2010, a group of Canadian artists remade K’naan‘s Wavin’ Flag as a charity single under the name Young Artists for Haiti, and it went to number one in Canada. K’naan had first written the song about Somalia and its people’s hopes for freedom.
David Guetta took a different road to the same place on Titanium, the 2011 single with Sia from Nothing but the Beat. It is a club track with a lyric about being unbreakable. Byron’s single sits between those two records: a dance single with a dedication, made for the people who come through the worst.
Gloria May Byron Wrote the Single and Steered It as Co-Executive Producer, With Harry Clarke UK on Mastering
The credits keep Byron at the centre. She is listed as lyricist, composer and co-executive producer, and Harry Clarke UK mastered the track. The two have worked together before, because Clarke is the featured name on He Sees You ~Now!, one of the lyric videos Byron posted in February 2026.
Meanwhile, the cover art comes from the photographer Alexas_Fotos. The official video, posted on her VEVO channel on 12 September, is a lyric video.
In fact, it has been a busy year on that channel. Since January she has posted lyric videos for Boom Bitty Boom BOOM!, Turn It Up! and Chasing The Sun, among others. Her SoundClick page also lists Here Comes The Weekend!, Little Birds and Dreams Of Tomorrow as coming next.
Where to Hear Hold Me Close Now! by Gloria May Byron, From Spotify to SoundClick and VEVO
The single is on Spotify and the other major services, including Apple Music, Deezer, Tidal and Amazon Music. Her SoundClick page streams it with a free membership, and the lyric video sits on her VEVO channel.
Who Hold Me Close Now! Is For
This single is for listeners who want dance-pop with a reason behind it. It works for the gym or the party, yet it carries a dedication to people living through disaster and to the people helping them. Fans of Wavin’ Flag and Titanium will recognise the idea.
PopHits.News’s curator team: “Hold Me Close Now! hides its biggest idea in the dedication, not the drop. Read the note first, then play it again, and the same chorus sounds like a promise.”
Stream Hold Me Close Now! in the player above, or watch the lyric video on the YouTube channel. Then follow Gloria May Byron across platforms: Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Tidal, Amazon Music, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, Facebook, X and the official site.
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