Advice for all artists: never bury your creations, because you never know when the bare bones of an unfinished song might re-surface. Sometimes, it’s months later; other times, years. No matter the time between a song’s birth and maturation, the results are usually worth the wait. There are endless stories of songs that almost didn’t make it onto an album, or were lost and forgotten on the studio floor, but were resurrected by a producer’s ear, or an artist’s push to finish a composition that long lay dormant – ending up as a hit.
That’s the case of “In Another World.” Breagh Isabel co-wrote and co-produced the EJAE smash single, which was released in October of 2025, and has since surpassed 10 million cumulative streams.
Select the image to access EJAE’s “In Another World,” co-written by Breagh Isabel
“That song really showed me that you never know which songs are going to turn into something, and where the songs are going to go,” says Isabel, from her Halifax home studio. “I’ve had a few moments like that in my career, where the songs that you least expect end up being some of the most important. It teaches you to never give up on a song, if you feel there’s something special about it.”
The bones for “In Another World” were assembled several years ago at a songwriting camp. Isabel was paired with EJAE, and her fellow Canadian songwriter, Tedy. The trio came up with some ideas during their session, but none of these song sketches were finished by the time they had to wrap things up for the day.
“As the session ended, EJAE came up with this beautiful concept of ‘In Another World,’ and she started to sing,” says Isabel. “Her voice was just so incredible, and we all got really excited, but then we had to go upstairs and meet everyone else, so we didn’t get to finish the song.”
“In Another World” remained on the back burner for awhile. Following the song camp, the trio e-mailed ideas back and forth, adding to the song’s structure whenever inspiration struck. Then EJAE’s career blew up, as the voice of Rumi in KPop Demon Hunters, Netflix’s most-watched film of all time. Every original song from the accompanying soundtrack charted on the Billboard Hot 100. In the wake of that explosion, “In Another World” was finally completed, and became the first single to launch EJAE’s solo career.
“It had always been a really special song to EJAE, so we finished it over e-mail, sending files back and forth, and she turned it into something super-special,” says Isabel. “I was so proud that it was her first release as a solo artist. It’s also become one of my most streamed songs ever… something I definitely couldn’t have foreseen when we started writing it.”
From Port Cities to Successful Sync Songwriter/Producer
Breagh Isabel (née MacKinnon) was born in Sydney, on Cape Breton Island, and spent her formative years in this slice of Nova Scotian heaven. Music was ever-present throughout her childhood. Isabel’s father played in a rock band that toured across Canada in the 1970s, so while she grew up, there were usually kitchen parties on weekends in the MacKinnon household.
Isabel grew up playing piano. In high school, like a “typical angsty teenager,” she started to write songs in her bedroom with an acoustic guitar. “That’s where I really fell in love with music,” she says. “Songwriting was the thing that made me feel like this is something I really wanted to do for the rest of my life.”
Isabel attended post-secondary school for music, studying jazz piano at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish. Throughout school, she continued to write and to perform; that’s also when she first started co-writing. In 2015, Isabel started the band Port Cities with Carleton Stone (now SOCAN’s East Coast Ambassador) and Dylan Guthro. For years, the trio toured Canada, the U.S., and Europe.
“In Port Cities is where I really learned a lot about the music industry, and being a professional musician,” says Isabel. “Then, in 2018, I left the band. I knew I wanted to pursue songwriting and production more full-time, so I did an internship in Nashville with an amazing producer, Paige Blue.”
Select the image to access Rai’s “See the Sun,” featuring Hunnah, co-written by Breagh Isabel
This mentorship led to learning more about the world of sync, and eventually signing with Concord Music Publishing (home to fellow Canadians Bahamas and Bella White). In 2021, Isabel reached a watershed moment by landing a song, “See the Sun,” in Grey’s Anatomy (season 17, episode 11, performed by Rai featuring Hunnah). She’d not only co-written it with Hunnah and Peter Groenwald, but she’d also mixed, mastered, and produced it.
Says Isabel, “Grey’s Anatomy is still one of my all-time favourite shows, so that was a huge thrill to see something I wrote and produced, and to hear my little voice in the background, over Meredith Grey, and all these actors and actresses – who I kind of felt like I knew, from watching the show over the years. That was my first taste of how cool the sync world can be.”
Production work is now Isabel’s full-time gig. Working out of her home studio in Halifax, she balances motherhood – as she and her partner raise a six-month old son – with songwriting and producing compositions for various media. Isabel has proven so successful writing and producing sync songs that she’s in the very rare position of being signed to the aforementioned Nashville-based publisher, Concord, while still living in Halifax, and working largely from home. As a non-performing songwriter/producer, she’s become a true professional.
Besides Grey’s Anatomy, Isabel has had syncs in Selling Sunset Orange County, FBI, Batwoman – and more recently, Sullivan’s Crossing – to name a few of the shows where her productions have been placed. And, over the years, she’s co-written with everyone from Rose Cousins and Donovan Woods to Ria Mae, BANNERS, and Matt Andersen. For Isabel, co-writing opened up a whole new world that allowed her to refine her craft further. Informal instruction and mentorship in the art of songcraft also came from other songwriters – especially fellow Maritimers Cousins and Gordie Sampson.
“Gordie showed me that being a professional songwriter is a real job, and that it’s possible as a career, but you have to put the hours in,” she says. “He’s a really tangible role model of someone I saw who did it. He’s such an incredible songwriter and he’s been such a big mentor for me.”