CREATIVE · SONG CHALLENGE
Our words. Your sound.
We are told that growing up is about finding ourselves, but the truth is more complex: we are not one single thing. We are a collection of roles we inhabit, dreams we carry, and versions of ourselves we are still getting to know.
This is an open invitation, not a competition. There are no entry fees, judging, or prizes. Share a link through the optional submission page by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on December 15, 2026, if you would like your work considered for the showcase.
Us: A Study in Becoming
Who have I been? Who am I becoming? How do I care for someone else without losing myself?
Zeredi is an app in development for organizing your preferences across the different landscapes of your life.
Why music for an app about preferences?
Our preferences don’t exist in isolation. What matters to us can change with our roles, circumstances, and stages of life. Zeredi is being developed to help organize those preferences. These songs explore the people and experiences behind them. The app is the practical tool; the music is a creative exploration of the same starting point: we are not one single thing.
The format was inspired by K-pop concept debuts, which introduce a creative world through music and visuals. I created this invitation to explore those questions through music. My background is in writing, not songwriting; I used AI prompting to develop lyric drafts around self-transformation. Any genre, language, or interpretation is welcome; K-pop is an inspiration, not a requirement.
A creative invitation, with context
This project is part of how I'm introducing Zeredi, so sharing it may also bring attention to the app. I want to be open about that. It is also a creative pursuit I genuinely care about—one I can't fully explore on my own. I can share the words and sketches, but other people bring voices, experiences, and possibilities I couldn't create myself.
Taking part in this challenge does not mean you're joining Zeredi's waitlist or committing to downloading or using the app. You're welcome to participate simply because the songs or the creative invitation speak to you. You're invited to make something of your own, not an advertisement. You don't need to promote Zeredi or give me permission to reuse your work to participate.
Us is a conceptual mini-album about the many versions of ourselves: the roles we inhabit, the people we become, and the relationships that change alongside us. Its six tracks move among different perspectives and stages of life rather than following one person in chronological order. The questions and struggles remain real, but the music also makes room for connection, anticipation, and delight.
The Song Challenge materials are starting points, not a finished album. Each track page includes:
- A lyric draft to adapt, translate, or use as inspiration.
- Mood and direction notes to suggest an emotional and musical starting point.
- AI-generated reference tracks (.wav) as sketches—not finished recordings.
I don't believe having it all together means you've finished becoming—and the same is true for a song. Use the words, audio, and atmosphere as a guide, or take them apart and build something entirely new.
Bring your own sound to the lyric drafts—piano, a driving beat, rap, or something else. The goal isn't to arrive at one final answer, but to make room for who we are today and who we might become.
Artwork formats and posting guidance
Square: 1080 × 1080. Vertical: 1080 × 1920 for Stories, Reels or Live backgrounds. Horizontal: 1920 × 1080, available with titles or as artwork only. Artwork-only horizontals contain no lettering, track numbers or branding dots, leaving the left side open for your own lyrics, captions or video layout. Vertical text is kept away from the top and bottom interface areas, though platform overlays vary; check the final in-app preview before posting. Horizontals are song artwork, not center-clear virtual backgrounds.
These lyrics and melody guides were generated through AI prompting and have not yet been thoroughly reviewed. I selected the audio arrangements as creative directions, not as fully tested vocal arrangements. I haven't sung through every song, and my own vocal range is limited, so I can't yet judge how comfortably every line will sing. The guides may not line up with every lyric, and some words or phrases may be difficult to sing. Please adapt the words, melody, rhythm, key, or phrasing to suit your voice.
Listen and explore
These are digital reference sketches, not recorded singers or finished productions. Choose an arrangement, then learn the tune with the melody guide or make it your own over the backing. Versions are paired only within the same arrangement.
The melody guides are starting points, not required vocal ranges. Change the key, octave, phrasing or arrangement to suit your voice.
- With melody guide
- An instrumental guide plays the vocal melody.
- Backing only
- Accompaniment without the vocal melody guide; instrumental hooks remain.
SONG CHALLENGE · DESIGN STUDY
Songs travel further when we share them.
A quiet, country-level view of the places this creative invitation reaches.
Visual preview only. These sample markers are not real submissions or locations.
A future map would include only people who choose to appear, with locations shown in broad strokes.
Make a little something.
Choose your starting point.
Use a verse, a chorus, or a full song draft. Write your own melody, adapt or translate the shared lyric drafts, or write an original rap about the struggle of self-transformation: wanting to change, being afraid to let go, and making room for another side of yourself. You don't have to use the shared drafts. A phone recording is as welcome as a studio production.
Make it at home in your language.
The English lyric drafts are the source text for translations. Any translations I provide are for convenience, not finished lyrics for every language or culture. I can't fully understand every cultural context, so please adapt the words, imagery, rhythm, and expressions to what feels natural and appropriate in yours. You don't need to follow the English word for word. Keep the theme, bring your own perspective, and credit the source and note your adaptations if you use a shared draft.
Bring your sound. Or your movement.
For choreography, use your own recording or music you have permission to use. Check the platform's music rules, especially for commercial posts. This invitation does not clear anyone else's recording, samples, or composition.
Share it your way.
If you post on TikTok, Instagram, or elsewhere, you can use #StillMeZeredi or #RoomForAnotherAnswer. Hashtags are optional, not entry forms. Posting does not guarantee that we will see or feature your work.
Your contribution stays yours.
Participating does not assign your rights to Zeredi. You retain whatever rights you hold in your original lyrics, music, performance, choreography, and recording, subject to collaborators' and third-party rights. An original rap written around the theme is your own creative work, not a lyric draft supplied for this challenge. If you don't adapt or use a shared draft, its license and suggested credit do not apply: no Zeredi credit or mention is required. Other people can explore the same theme or adapt the shared drafts too; neither the theme nor the drafts are exclusive to any participant.
Permission for the shared lyrics
To the extent Zeredi holds copyright in the lyric drafts shared through the Song Challenge, I offer them under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). You may share and adapt the drafts, including through translations, musical settings, recordings, and commercial releases, subject to that license. Credit the source, link the license, and indicate changes. This permission covers the shared lyric drafts only—not Zeredi's logo, other artwork, or anyone else's music.
Read the CC BY 4.0 licenseSuggested credit
Lyrics adapted from "[song title]", shared by Zeredi (AI-assisted lyric draft). Source: [link to the song's detail page]. Lyrics: CC BY 4.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Music, performance, and recording by [your credits]. Changes: [describe adaptations, if any].
The lyric drafts were created with AI assistance. Copyright protection and authorship rules vary by jurisdiction; I make no promise of exclusive or enforceable copyright in the shared drafts, platform acceptance, or clearance of third-party rights. The license applies only to rights I can grant. It does not require you to license your own original contributions under CC BY.
A place for your interpretation
For each song, I may invite creators of up to 10 interpretations that I personally like, whether for how they explore the song's theme or for the creativity of their work, to be featured on this site, with their permission and agreed credit. This is a personal selection, not a ranking or competition. Your work remains yours, and choosing not to be featured does not affect your participation.
A hashtag, public link, or contact message does not authorize Zeredi to download, reupload, edit, or use your work in advertising. If I would like to feature it, I will ask separately and agree on the use and credit. Make sure all relevant contributors can agree too.
Independent invitation from Zeredi. Not sponsored, endorsed, or administered by TikTok, Instagram, Meta, or any festival. Do not imply a Zeredi partnership or endorsement. Follow platform rules and disclose any actual paid or gifted relationship.