Thomas Orlina Is Uplifting People with His New Single ‘This Time’

In early February, singer-songwriter and producer Thomas Orlina released a new pop rock song titled “This Time.” Today, he is debuting the track’s highly anticipated visual.

Written to reach an audience that has dealt with anxiety, depression, toxic relationships, and drama while being excited to tackle the future in a more positive direction, “This Time” is intended to uplift and inspire people to move forward and take control of their own narrative.

Orlina, who has been a mental health advocate for years, is releasing the visual on March 2 in honor of World Teen Mental Wellness Day. Directed by Sophie Peineke, the video depicts the artist in a new light as an actor battling through a series of emotions such as the pressure of rejection, emotional fears, abuse of alcohol, and more. It is also designed to show that life has its challenges, but it is ultimately up to us to face them and take the steps we need to overcome them.

In addition to music, Orlina is best known for being the star and executive producer of his hit YouTube series, Your Time with Thomas, with nearly 100,000 viewers on his channel worldwide.

He took some time to talk more about “This Time” and its visual, as well as his artistry and mental health, with OFM.

Let me begin by asking, how excited are you to release the visual for your new single “This Time?”

I’m very excited! We’ve been working on this for a couple months now, and just to see it all come to life has been amazing. It’s press week, so having a lot of conversations with people and seeing how they have really gravitated toward the mental health message of the song, I think that’s been very exciting.

So, the track has been received well by listeners?

Yes, a lot of people have reached out saying they really like the vibe. With all my music, I try to really tap into different types of genres. Overarching pop is still my direction of music, but I like to kind of dabble. This one is the rock version, and I have another EDM song coming out later this year. So, still under the pop umbrella, but going into different categories has been fun for me.

You mentioned a moment ago the mental aspect of “This Time.” Can you talk more about that?

Last year, I really took the time to educate myself on what I wanted to do to better myself and better my situation. So, going into therapy, meeting with a therapist, and that’s something I never thought I was going to do. You hear conversations about seeking professional help, but for me, it wasn’t until last year when I was like, “Let me give it a shot.” After going through therapy and receiving the help I really wanted, it inspired me to create a project I felt was going to help other people.

Since I started my career on-camera, I’ve always wanted to put out projects and messaging that was going to be helpful to my audience. So, for me, coming out with “This Time” just felt like the right time, and I was very excited for people to just have it for the rest of their lives. I want them to look at the project, listen to the music, see the visual, and really understand my journey.

What can audiences expect from the visual?

My director, Sophie Peineke, and my co-songwriter, Christopher Bugna, we sat down, and we really wanted to do something like a short film. Working in entertainment, my team has always pushed me to do something outside of the box, and I’ve never done something like a short film aspect. I take viewers on a journey of someone who is going through rejection and is just at a low point in their life.

As you see the visual, they start to become more confident and start realizing that things that were important to them in the beginning weren’t. I really take you through this emotional journey, and there’s also some symbolism of drinking. The song in general is just about really freeing yourself from things that you know might not be serving you well anymore.

And what do you ultimately hope audiences take away from “This Time?”

I would love for them to feel free from their past mistakes and things they’ve done wrong. Realize that every day is kind of a new beginning and you can always find hope in new situations. Better yourself. In the video, we also really dive into this feeling of being independent and not having to need anything or anyone, and just knowing that you have a lot of strength within yourself. You’ll see me diving into all my different emotions and crying, and I’m just going through a lot of different emotions that I feel will really help my audience. This song, and I’ve said this time and time again, is one of the most personal projects I’ve ever worked on.

Have you always had a passion for singing and songwriting?

Yeah, ever since I was a kid. There are photos of me holding a microphone; I’ve always kind of mimicked singing, and I’ve always looked up to different artists. I’m a huge fan of Justin Bieber, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga—all my favorites. I’ve always kind of looked to see how they evolved as artists, so every time I come up with a project, I’m always thinking about what’s next. What haven’t I done? What am I really trying to push? Music has always been a passion of mine, and when I wrote “This Time,” it therapeutically helped me get through a lot of what I did last year.

I love that you are releasing the visual on World Teen Mental Wellness Day. Have you always been an advocate for mental health and wellness?

Yes. My show, Your Time with Thomas, I really dive into many different topics like that. So, I think having a song that is dedicated to it made a lot of sense. This is why “This Time” means that much more to me because I want to be able to help the next generation, and mental health is such a huge topic in our society today. Being a champion for those conversations is something that’s very meaningful to me. Whenever I come out with any project, I always try to come up with something that I feel is going to help my generation, the next generation, and future generations to come.

Why do you think mental health is still an issue that’s stigmatized and often pushed to the side or swept under the rug?

That’s a great question. Ever since I was a kid as well, it’s kind of been the old norm to just deal with things internally, and we didn’t really have these open conversations. Now, especially with the Gen Zs and a lot of the communities, having those conversations is becoming normalized, and I don’t think it’s going to end. You see it now with athletes like Serena Williams, who recently spoke out about it, and other athletes have talked about it. It’s almost celebrated.

As I said with this project and what I went through last year, I want to continue to be a champion for normalizing these conversations because you see so many tragic incidents where people are not getting the help that they need and hearing the worst of the worst stories. Right now and going onward, this is something that I definitely hope continues to be a conversation in all households across the country and world. Mental health is something that people should take very seriously.

Do you believe mental health is an even bigger issue within the LGBTQ community?

Yes, absolutely. For me, being a part of the LGBTQ community, I think it’s extremely important to continue to push the conversation of mental health. On my show, Your Time with Thomas, Episode Two of season one, I dived into my coming out story, and I personally feel like the earlier we have the conversations in family households, the better. We need to have that open dialogue of how people are really feeling and what can be done to help them. So, I definitely think it’s more heightened in our community, because of those reasons. Again, I think everybody in general should have these types of conversations.

What are some future goals you hope to accomplish with your career and platform?

I think continuing to have fun is always the first thing. Then reaching out to my community and asking my audience what they’re looking for, what kind of sound they’re interested in, and just kind of following my heart with what I want to do. After I release this project, I’m going to take a couple months off, but I’ll be back with a new single, and I’m really looking forward to releasing it. A few of my friends have heard it, and of course, my producers and writer have heard it, so we’re looking forward to that era, which is all about confidence. I can’t wait to share that with the world.

I’m also working on a few other projects with my team, really thinking about the next type of content that I want to put out. Right now, the landscape with TikTok, YouTube, and short form content is evolving, so there’s so much to do. I would also love to perform my music live. I think that has been an overarching goal of mine for quite a bit of time now. When I get that opportunity, I am looking forward to bringing my dancers on stage and really having a full pop performance. I think that will be a lot of fun.

Before we wrap up, are there any other upcoming projects or anything else you would like to mention or plug?

Just please follow me on social media and my YouTube channel. I have new content coming out with Your Time with Thomas, and I’m working on my next music video. I’m looking forward for my audience to see it because I don’t think I’ve released a project like this before. There’s a lot of choreography, and it was inspired by Britney Spears and Lady Gaga. I also have a lot of cool things coming up for Pride, so stay tuned!

Stay up-to-date and connect with Orlina by following him on Instagram @thomasorlina and YouTube @yourtimewiththomas, or visit his official website, thomasorlina.com. “This Time” is available on all music streaming platforms.

Photos courtesy of Sophie Peineke