NYA releases her latest music video today. And it’s fabulous! Hailing from Tampa, Florida, where she attended the Straz Center for the Performing Arts, she then attended NYU, further developing her distinctive brand of music. Last year’s “Round N Round” established her as a rising star, garnering legions of fans.
Stylistically, NYA’s sound emanates a definite R&B flavor, along with elements of pop, electronic music and soul. Her inimitable voice radiates influences from legends like Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra, along with the prevailing contemporary virtues of innovation and avant garde dynamics supported by classical training. It’s a voice that exudes a fragile vulnerability and an exotic, sensual aspect that’s sultry yet delicate, and fully capable of Diva-like projection when the music demands.
“Let Go” begins with electric piano chords, followed by NYA’s distinctive voice, and then the groove enters, a rapidly pulsing R&B/pop flavored beat that’s subdued but intoxicating. Finger snaps and deep tom accents add percussive depth and harmonics to the tune, as it rides a simmering R&B melody that provides a delicious sensation, rippling with muted energy as it tosses a mandala of pigmented sonic lights. The fresh sonority of the synth finances a tapestry of minimal harmonics that throb with restrained vitality, cool yet simultaneously accretive.
As NYA sings, her voice approaches hyper-femininity laced with an erotic, romantic frisson, giving her voice resonant vibrancy that counteracts the hyper-feminine quality. The overall effect swelters with steamy sonic wealth that’s at once classical and novel. It’s an extraordinary voice, easy to listen to, rife with understated flamboyance and substance. Her voice harvests the best qualities of Diana Ross and Amy Winehouse, but with more color.
The lyrics of “Let Go” convey amorous emergence, the anticipation of satisfying romance, the hormonal exuberance of youth and hushed exhilaration.
“I’m scared to share my soul / That he might see the things I know / I don’t really know what I’m doing / Trying to live this way / Wrapped my heart in sorrow / Stored it all away / I don’t really know who I’m playing / Saying that I’m alright.” And then the delightfully delicious and attractive chorus: “Gotta’ let it, gotta’ let it go / Let go / Just let go.”
The video is set at a carnival, where NYA walks with cotton candy in her hand. Nearby, at the carousel, through the rounding horses, she spies the object of her affection, a handsome young man. As she wonders if the young man is the man of her dreams, she is caparisoned in white top and shiny silver slacks. Later, when she tosses darts at balloons, she wears a simple dress, significant of her yearning for romance and her self-doubts. The young man approaches the dart throw, and stands beside her. She hands him the darts, symbolic of letting go and giving him permission.
NYA really has it going on! “Let Go” is a marvelously stunning song. The melody is contagiously effective, subdued yet cascading with energy. The lyrics express tenuous tension, eagerness and elation, while the chorus hooks you in, forcing you to sing along. The icing on the cake is NYA’s sublime voice. Put simply, “Let Go” should establish NYA’s place as a megastar.
Find out more about NYA here.