Senior Kyle Towey’s musical journey started years ago when he would sing with his grandma. Soon after he began singing, people began complimenting his voice.

“I was always in musical theater and I wanted to be an actor for awhile, but then I found out that the musical side of it was really what was getting me,” Towey said.

On Dec. 23, Towey released his song, “The People,” on SoundCloud and YouTube. He had been working on it for over a year.

“It was a very long process. It started when I came up with the chorus, and then part of the bridge in my head,” Towey said. “Then, I worked on the rest of the song for a long time without anything concrete. It took me months, but eventually I figured something out, and I got something that I liked.”

Towey said that he tried to capture the feeling of being on the highway, surrounded by cars and people.

“The song for me personally has taken a deeper meaning because it is something that I have been working on for this very long year,” Towey said. “I had my first job over the summer, performing at a place in Montvale, and that was the first song of my own that I would play for people. Now it is my first song that I am releasing, so it’s pretty special to me.”

While he played the guitar and piano by himself, Towey used GarageBand software for the bass, although some of the percussion was a mix.

When Towey first started writing his song, Harry Styles had just come out with the song, “Lights Up,” which Towey noted had an inspirational role in the creation of “The People.”

“I think there was a lot of Billy Joel in [my song].” Towey said. “There’s also a bit of Charlie Puth in there. That’s really where my inspirations came from, and of course some Elton John, because I always have to have some Elton John.”

Towey said that fellow PV Senior Anna Schneider helped with musical aspects and recommendations throughout the past year.

“I love the song, I’ve always loved the song,” Schneider said. “I heard it for the first time about a year ago when he only played on the piano, and it’s been so great to see it come to fruition.”

Schneider said that she believes the song is something that everyone can connect to and that Towey is an extremely talented musician who worked incredibly hard on the song.

“To me, the song celebrates our talents, like what people our age can do if they are given time and resources, in terms of music,” Schneider said. “I’m generally very proud of Kyle, honestly, so to me the song is a celebration of his talents.”

To continue his musical journey, Towey plans to attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston.

“Honestly I just put [the song] out with the hopes that this is a start for me,” Towey said. “I wanted to try recording music and see where that goes. Fortunately, now I’m going to Berklee, so I can have some more of a future there.”