Courtesy of Robert Gao

“Does she do your laundry, does she call you baby like me?” Marin Korenaga ’27 croons on her latest single, “baby like me.” 

Korenaga is a singer-songwriter who hails from Bethany, Connecticut. Released on Jan. 31, the song marks her third single and leads her upcoming EP. 

“I write music to connect. Connect with myself, with other songwriters and with listeners. I hope that listeners can find a piece of my song, whether it be one line or a chord progression, that resonates with them,” said Korenaga.

The song was written for a close friend of Korenaga. 

According to Korenaga, her “emotional nature” shapes her songwriting; after listening to her friend’s experiences, she was inspired to channel them into a song. 

“It was a rainy night in Boston and I had just finished dinner with a friend — that’s when I

got her call,” said Korenaga. “The shock and disbelief of how someone could treat another person put me into a deep emotional state, which drove the vision of this song.”

When the singer-songwriter got her journal at age 11, she began writing lyrics in them. As a trained violinist and pianist, she was introduced to music early on and harbored a desire to create her own music. 

As she entered high school, songwriting became something more for Korenega. Her childhood home’s basement, equipped with a piano and dim lights, became her escape; there, she would write songs, including ‘baby like me.’ 

The songwriting process was a long one. Her brother, on top of being a full-time college student in Nashville, served as her producer.

The song was written around March 2024, but there were different vocal and instrumental attempts that Korenaga and her brother worked through. Korenaga spent a generous amount of time choosing which chords to use for the song and how to structure them in a way that keeps focus on the lyrics.

Korenaga got to perform the song as part of Yale Spring Fling Committee’s “Tiny Dorms” — a series of original stages from different student artists and bands. She also worked closely with 17o1 Records, Yale’s only record label dedicated to student artists.

“I have the best support system in the world, and I think I’m the luckiest person in the

world for it,” said Korenaga. “It really made me recognize how much I love making music and how much I want to keep making it.”

Korenaga is especially grateful for her family, who have continuously supported her passion for art. 

Additionally, Korenaga works with an artist team that consists of a manager, photographer, videographer, graphic designer, producer, events director and publicity manager. Her photographer is Robert Gao ’27 and her manager is Devin Thomas ’27.  

As part of marketing for the song, Korenaga held a photoshoot inside the Trumbull laundry room referencing the lyric “does she do your laundry?”

“A lot of choices are determined by the limited resources we have access to around campus, which often leads to some unexpected creativity (like the Trumbull laundry shoot)! We also always make Pinterest boards together before each shoot that give us some ideas,” Gao wrote to the News.

As manager, Thomas organizes weekly meetings and oversees everything from event planning to graphic design and videography. Additionally, he helps plan her promotional content.

Many on Korenaga’s team spoke about how much they enjoy working with Korenaga — she’s truly passionate about the music and the people she works with, they said. 

“She is truly so dedicated to her music and is so talented. It’s been a blast supporting her grow her career as an artist and being just a piece of her success,” said Thomas.

‘baby like me’ is the first song on Korenaga’s EP and a music video for the song is set to release soon.