Before performing “Unsaid” at a concert in May 2019, Ruel said

I actually wrote it about a breakup with a girl. Then, I kind of rewrote it to make it fit into another topic because a great friend of mine recently passed away due to mental health and mental illness. So I kind of changed the song topic to that. Yeah, so I rewrote the lyrics.

In an August 2019 interview with Coup de Main, Ruel explained

Definitely. I wrote that with Tobias Jesso Jr. in L.A. and when we first wrote it, it was about a girl who I’d had a break-up with and after we’d broken up there were so many things I’d wanted to say to her before she broke up with me, and it was too late. So it was just all about having all these words left unsaid. And when I came back to it, I wanted to write it about a friend of mine who had passed away and was dealing with mental illness and depression, so I kind of brought it to that topic as well. It was a lot harder to bring it there, but it was very therapeutic.

In a September 2019 interview with The Queensland Times, Ruel said

The deeply moving Unsaid, started as a “girl song” but became about a friend who lost their battle with mental illness.

He also revealed that he “is planning to use the song to launch a mental health campaign with the music industry charity Support Act”.

“Mental illness, depression and anxiety, is such a huge thing in this music business – it’s insane how high the suicide rates are,” he said.

“I feel like I am the most open book to people who are close to me and I never hide anything from them. If I am feeling down, I tell someone and I feel like I am lucky to have that.

“Not everyone has those people around them to talk to.

Guy Sebastian, an Australian singer songwriter, wrote and released his track “Choir” after finding out about Luke’s passing. The two had toured the world together as Liang was a part of Sebastian’s band.

In an August 2019 interview with Coup de Main, Ruel explained

It’s definitely heavy, but it still is a tribute to a friend. It’s still hard to sing every time because the lyrics are so specific and true, but it’s so nice to see the fans react to that one as well though, it’s so reassuring to know that they can relate to it.