featuring @lana_karlay
Geelong artist Lana Karlay returns with her latest single, ‘Cross Your Mind’, a powerful pop-rock track about recognising your worth, choosing to walk away, and the complicated hope that the person you leave behind will eventually realise what they have lost.
Arriving Friday 11 September via GYRO, the single explores the emotional aftermath of an unbalanced relationship — that space between knowing it is time to leave and still wishing things could have been different.
‘Cross Your Mind’ begins with soft, dreamy vocals before building into soaring guitars, driving drums and a powerful chorus that delivers its message with clarity. At its heart, the track captures the slow burn of carrying the emotional weight of a relationship alone, and the moment when hope gives way to self-respect.
The song’s title came from one of its defining lyrics: “I have to cross you to cross your mind.” From there, the rest of the song quickly came together.
“Cross Your Mind is about reaching the point where you realise you’re carrying the weight of a relationship on your own,” Lana says. “You’re constantly thinking about the other person, making excuses for them and trying to hold everything together, while they only seem to think about you when it’s convenient or when something goes wrong.”
Co-written and produced by Lana alongside brother duo Mason & Julez, the track was mastered by Mark Parfitt, whose credits include Justin Bieber, Kehlani and Meghan Trainor.
For Lana, ‘Cross Your Mind’ also marks an important turning point creatively. While her earlier releases have explored a range of genres and sounds, the new single confidently embraces the pop-rock direction she has been moving towards, combining pop melodies with the energy and impact of live instrumentation.
“I think this is the song that really cements the pop-rock direction I’ve been moving towards as an artist,” she says. “While my previous releases have explored different sounds, Cross Your Mind feels like the point where everything has come together. More than anything, I feel like Cross Your Mind is the closest I’ve come to finding my own sound. It feels authentic to who I am as both a songwriter and performer, and it’s the direction I’m really excited to keep exploring.”
The new release follows a recent live appearance supporting Darcie Haven at Geelong’s new venue, CHURCH, where audiences got the chance to experience Lana’s high-energy performance firsthand.
“I wanted people to see a high-energy set with plenty of emotion, a few surprises and some unreleased music,” Lana says. “My goal is for people to walk away having had fun, but also feeling connected to the stories behind the songs.”
Still a high school student, Lana has already built an impressive following, with more than 41,000 monthly Spotify listeners and over 1,000 radio plays. Her growing profile has also seen her featured across a double-page spread in Total Girl and IT GIRL magazines.
In 2026, Lana was announced as a finalist in the Unsigned Only Top 12 Teen Category and a semi-finalist for the American Songwriter Road Ready Award, further cementing her reputation as one of the emerging young artists to watch.
With her sound becoming increasingly defined and bigger ambitions ahead, Lana Karlay is carving out a lane of her own — and ‘Cross Your Mind’ could be her clearest statement yet.
“I hope Cross Your Mind reminds people that they’re not alone if they’ve ever felt like they were giving more to a relationship than they were getting back,” Lana says. “It’s one of the most honest and vulnerable songs I’ve written, and I’m really proud of how it turned out.”
- Email: neill@outloudculture.com
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