Lynsea Unlocks Memories with HitClips-Inspired Rollout for ‘last call’

When local pop singer Lynsea was looking for a new platform to release her latest single, “last call,” she considered all the usual streaming platforms and media types — then she went back about a quarter-century to unlock a memory for many of her millennial fans. 

On June 27, Lynsea dropped a HitClips-inspired version of her new song, a nod back to the electronic Tiger keychain toy that would play 60-second, lo-fi versions of teen pop songs straight from the charts.  

After taking off in 2000, HitClips sold millions of micro-music toys in its first two years of existence. Targeted at ‘tweens, each song was featured on a tiny cartridge that could be played on HitClips players that looked like a miniature Walkman or boombox. 

The toys became obsolete in 2003-04 as iPods and other MP3 players became more accessible. They were discontinued in 2004, quickly becoming antiquities of the early aughts. For some, however, that’s what makes them special. 

“I personally collect HitClips and am a big nerd about them,” says Lynsea. “I started posting about my collection on TikTok and it went viral. There is apparently a huge community of people who love HitClips, too.” 

Lynsea paid homage to her hobby last month when she released a HitClips version of “last call,” a 60-second, lo-fi clip of the track complete with keychain — albeit a modernized version. Rather than seek out a HitClips player for the cartridge, listeners simply scan the keychain with their phone to hear the track. 

The release was Lynsea’s way of capitalizing on a piece of nostalgia that had struck a chord with followers on TikTok and Instagram. One of her posts had garnered hundreds of replies from people shocked at how seeing the tiny toy 20 years later had “unlocked a memory” for them. 

“It was such a short span of history that came and went so fast,” Lynsea told Queen City Nerve. “It was meaningful to us when we were 7-10 years old but then we forgot about it once the iPod and YouTube came out. 

“It’s funny though because HitClips lovers as adults now seem to bond over how ridiculous they were and wondering how we fell for it,” she continued. “We paid around 8.99 for 60 seconds of a shitty quality of a pop song — plus having to pay $20+ for a player to be able to play them — because we were just so desperate for music on the go.”  

The new single, which originally dropped in May, is a danceable pop love tale about the spark that can result from first meeting someone you have a connection with.

“You’re usually on the next train home by now/ But I made you stick around/ Talking til they kick us out/ Let’s go somewhere time doesn’t count/ You’re all I really care about,” she sings.  

“It’s about the feeling of being hyper-fixated on someone new, dying to fall in love,” she explains. “It paints the scene of being on a coffee date but you have so much to talk about your coffee gets cold, or no matter where you go, you’re there with this other person until last call.” 

Directed by Colin Cassidy, the moody, romantically styled video for “last call” was shot at Substrate, a wine and vermouth bar in Optimist Park, back in April.

Named Best Pop Artist in Queen City Nerve’s 2024 Best in the Nest issue, Lynsea remains as creative in the way she releases and markets her music as she is in making it. 

In 2023, she released a new single every month, then in 2024 she released three versions of her single “hormones” — each in a different language.