It's Okay to Cry

"It's Okay to Cry" is a 2017 single by Scottish recording artist and producer Sophie. Marking the first time the artist's vocals were featured in her work, the single was included on Sophie's 2018 album Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides.

Background and release
Early in the artist's career, Sophie was noted for her reclusive nature, rarely giving interviews and using press photos that obscured her appearance. She was widely believed to be a cisgender man and was criticized for "gender appropriation" for drawing from hyperfeminine aesthetics and performing under the name Sophie.

"It's Okay to Cry" and the accompanying music video, both released on 19 October 2017, are the first works by Sophie to feature her own face and voice and were interpreted by many as the artist's first public acknowledgement of her transgender identity.

Music video
In the self-directed music video for "It's Okay to Cry," Sophie appears for the first time in the artist's own work, singing in front of the sky as the weather changes.

Critical reception
Vice music critic Lauren O'Neill praised "It's Okay to Cry" as a new stylistic direction for Sophie. Dazed named the track one of the top twenty songs of 2017.

In the wake of Sophie's death, "It's Okay to Cry" was featured as one of the artist's best songs in lists published by The Guardian and Billboard.

Legacy
Frequent Sophie collaborator Charli XCX included the song "So I" on her 2024 studio album Brat as a tribute to Sophie, with lyrics that refer to "It's Okay to Cry."

Personnel

 * Sophie – production, composition, vocals