Tone Stith says seeing 'Fly' chart and resonate with fans 'has been the payoff' in new chapter of his journey

Tone Stith is flying up the radio charts with his latest single, "Fly," just as he's doing in his personal life. He tells ABC Audio the record is deeply tied to his personal journey.

"'Fly' was definitely written based off of my experience in my life just in the music industry, and my journey and really just feeling like a caged bird in a lot of it ... feeling like people just always kept me in a box ... and I wasn't able to explore what ... and who it was that I wanted it to be," Tone said. "'Fly' really came from a place of being like, 'Yo, this is a new chapter for me and a reset.'"

That intention carried into the visuals. "It was supposed to be in the desert. It was supposed to be some other aspects to it," Tone explained. "But then ... I was like it should just be even more focused on me."

Though deeply personal, the message of "Fly" is universal, which Tone believes is driving the song's success.

"For me, it was the music industry and my career," he said, "but then there's like so many aspects, so many walks of life where people are like, 'Yo, I'm feeling the same way. I just want to spread my wings.'"

Tone said seeing that connection has been the biggest reward thus far. “Usually I make a lot of love songs, so having songs [where] I'm just kind of being real transparent ... and just seeing it resonate with people [has] been the payoff for me," he said. "I'm happy about that.”

"Fly" is a preview of Tone's upcoming album, The Edge, which is set to release on May 15.

The song is on DSPs; the music video is available to watch on YouTube.