“how i wanna die” ~ SEBASTIAN RYDGREN's Love Letter to Feeling Finally Okay!

Many songs chase momentum. Others arrive once the running stops. On “how i wanna die”, Sebastian Rydgren steps into that rare emotional pause where striving loosens its grip and presence takes over. It is a title that startles on first glance, then slowly disarms, revealing a song less concerned with endings than with the fragile beauty of feeling, for once, exactly where you are meant to be. There is a rare, almost unsettling calm that arrives when striving pauses. Not because you have given up, but because for once, nothing is missing. Sebastian Rydgren captures that precise emotional temperature and lets it glow quietly, without rushing to explain itself.

Sebastian Rydgren

The track opens with motion rather than drama. A steady drum groove sets the pulse, soon joined by atmospheric synths that feel like night air moving through an open window. When Sebastian’s voice enters, it does not announce itself. It settles in. Guitars slowly bloom around the arrangement, and before you realise it, the song has blossomed into a fluid indie-pop groove that feels both weightless and grounded. Nothing arrives too fast. Nothing overstays its welcome. At the core of the song is a deceptively simple idea. This is not about despair or darkness, despite the title’s provocation. It is about contentment. About standing in a moment where life feels aligned. Relationships are good. The inner noise has quieted. Ambition has loosened its grip. The thought underlying the song is not morbid but strangely tender: if everything ended here, at least it would have ended honestly, in peace. That reframing turns the title from shock value into something gently philosophical. Sebastian’s vocal performance is central to making this work. He sings with restraint, choosing intimacy over intensity. There is confidence in that decision. He does not oversell the emotion or chase a climactic release. Instead, he trusts subtle inflection, small melodic shifts, and tone to do the work. The result feels lived-in, like someone speaking from experience rather than imagination. The production mirrors the message. The track is sleek and contemporary, but never glossy for the sake of it. There is a nocturnal softness to the soundscape, the kind of song that feels just as natural through headphones on a late walk as it does filling a room quietly at home. The groove moves, but it never pushes. It carries you forward while allowing space to think.

Sebastian Rydgren

Context matters here. Sebastian first caught national attention as a standout finalist on Swedish Idol, where his emotive voice and presence made him a fan favourite. Since then, he has steadily peeled away the surface layers of reality TV polish. Mentored early on by renowned producer Anders Bagge, and shaped by years of performing, writing, and experimenting under different monikers, Sebastian now sounds like an artist who has stopped auditioning versions of himself. “how i wanna die” feels like part of that arrival. Written and produced with Simon Karlsson, the song reflects a more personal and settled creative voice. Where earlier releases hinted at mood and atmosphere, this track commits fully to emotional clarity. It does not chase trends or dramatics. It chooses stillness, which in modern pop can feel almost rebellious. There is also something deeply human in choosing to document a good moment instead of waiting for it to pass. Pop music is often fueled by longing, heartbreak, and unrest. This song flips that script. It says that peace is worth singing about too, even if it is fleeting. The song walks a careful line. Contentment is notoriously difficult to write about without drifting into cliché or sentimentality. Sebastian avoids both. The awareness that this moment cannot last forever gives the song its quiet poignancy. Happiness here is not naïve. It is temporary, fragile, and therefore precious. In this new chapter, following “Imaginary Lover” and “In My Dreams”, the song feels like a turning point. The lowercase title fits the mood perfectly, understated, confident, uninterested in shouting. Sebastian is no longer performing for approval. He is presenting a feeling and trusting listeners to meet him there.

Sebastian Rydgren

With an EP on the horizon, “how i wanna die” signals an artist stepping fully into his own emotional language. It is reflective without being heavy, danceable without being hollow, and sincere without being self-important. It captures a moment many people recognise but rarely articulate. That alone makes it linger. “how i wanna die” doesn’t ask to be consumed loudly or quickly. It asks to be lived with. Let it soundtrack a late-night walk, a quiet room, a moment when everything feels briefly aligned. By choosing stillness over spectacle, press play, sit with it, and support an artist who understands that sometimes the most powerful statement is simply being present.

#SEBASTIANRYDGREN #howiwannadie #pop #indiepop #electronicpop #dancepop #music #NORR #SanSebastian #Sweden #Stockholm

Listen to "how i wanna die" on #Spotify here -

You can check out and follow Sebastian Rydgren's musical journey on his Instagram profile here: https://www.instagram.com/sebastianrydgren