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Summary
Singer-songwriter Breland shares how writing 365+ songs a year, surviving a brutal industry rejection, and embracing "dead songs" shaped his creative process.
Self-correction / false start — Speakers often restart a phrase mid-sentence in natural speech. Example: "this is a this is a this is a waste of my time" — learners should practise these disfluencies to sound more natural.
Conditional with "if" + present simple for general truths — Used to express timeless creative advice. Example: "you will eventually get to the songs that you really want if you just continue to work on it."
"End up" + gerund for unplanned outcomes — Describes results that happen as a consequence. Example: "I ended up buying some equipment" — the purchase was a reaction, not a pre-planned step.
Ellipsis / incomplete sentences in speech — Speakers drop words that are understood from context. Example: "I wrote and recorded a good 365" — the noun "songs" is omitted because it is already clear from context.
About this video
This TED-Ed video features Breland — a country, R&B, hip-hop, and gospel artist from New Jersey now based in Nashville — recounting a pivotal early-career moment: at age 19, he rode a Megabus from DC to New York for a meeting with music executive Lyor Cohen, only to be told "this is a waste of my time" and dismissed after literally two minutes. Rather than quitting, Breland committed to writing and recording one song every day for a full year, eventually scaling up to two songs a day, accumulating over 700 songs and cold-calling industry insiders by email, DM, tweet, and even handwritten letter to get feedback. The video closes with his philosophy on writer's block, creative humility, and why even "dead songs" — the unfinished ones nobody hears — are essential to eventually producing great work.
For shadowing practice, this video is excellent material. Breland speaks in a natural, conversational American English rhythm with clear enunciation, moderate pace, and frequent self-corrections ("this is a this is a") that mirror real spoken English. The language shifts naturally between informal storytelling and more reflective, advice-driven speech, giving learners exposure to both narrative and motivational registers in a single short clip.
This suits B2 learners who want to practise authentic American spoken English, including hesitation devices, informal connectors, and industry vocabulary. Shadowers will gain confidence with self-interruption patterns, reduced speech (like "cuz"), and how native speakers build extended explanations using "you know" and "and so."
Idioms & expressions
double down — to commit even more strongly to something after a setback, rather than giving up
cold calling — contacting strangers (in this case industry professionals) without a prior relationship or introduction
strike (at any moment) — (of inspiration) to arrive suddenly and unexpectedly; "inspiration can strike at any moment"
step away from — to deliberately stop working on something for a period of time to gain fresh perspective
let it sit — to leave something untouched for a while so you can return to it with fresh eyes or ears
get too down on yourself — to be overly self-critical or discouraged about your own progress
in service to — focused on what something else needs, rather than on your own preferences; "How can I be in service to the song?"
messed up — (implied in "songs that you feel like you messed") to have made mistakes with or failed to finish something properly
