In the era of soulful artists like Adele, the standards for what it means to sing with emotion are pretty high—the next generation of singers really have their work cut out for them. But if any of them sound like Jorja Smith, we're in for some good company. At 19 years old, the Walsall, England-bred singer-songwriter can already count Drake as a fan of her work. Following a big debut on Annie Mac's BBC Radio 1 show this week, we have the honor of premiering her next single, "So Lonely."
The emotionally driven song is inspired by Smith's experience of moving to London by herself. "There were times of feeling so lonely," she says. "But now I'm not so lonely." You can feel the overwhelming sense of solitude slowly building with every piano note. Smith effortlessly evokes sentimental feelings, singing from a place of pure honesty, which resonates in every listener.
"So Lonely" can work as the background music in a variety of dramatic scenarios, but here are a few that instantly come to mind: When it gets too cold to go out, and you live really far away from your friends, so you're stranded at home streaming flicks on Netflix by yourself; the moment when you realize that the celebrity you stan for is incredibly problematic and you need to cut them out of your life; when you decide to delete your Tinder and Bumble accounts because they're just not working; and when you're watching the heartbreaking scene where Heidi Montag moves out of the apartment she shared with Lauren Conrad in season two of The Hills.
Smith's debut Project 11 EP drops toward the end of the week. Stream her somber single, below.
