Last night, I took a cold shower. Why, you might ask? Zella Day is the answer. Her starpower shines so bright, I found myself narrowly avoiding third-degree burns inside the Troubadour at 10pm. Not to mention the fact that her confidence, style and sexuality is so magnetized that I think I need to start hanging posters above my bed like a thirteen-year-old boy "discovering himself."

In all honesty, I don't remember the last time I saw a truly impeccable set from a new artist. From her soaring vocal performance to her masterful crowd interaction to her ability to nail a luminescent cover of The Zombies' "Time of the Season" tambourine in hand, I truly woudn't have changed a damn thing.


If my unfiltered admiration isn't enough to get you spinnin' Kicker - her debut album through Pinetop/Hollywood - at full volume, I have a few points to get across. For one, the video for the 20-year-old's breakout single, "Hypnotic" (above), has already accumulated 1.5m views in three months; her YouTube channel boasts a combined 3.8m views. As for radio, it's currently #21 at Triple A and #48 at Alternative. Follow-up single "High" is currently impacting at both formats as well.

The songstress has a combined 40m+ Spotify streams and has earned nine #1s from tastemaker hotspot Hype Machine. She was also featured by both Vevo's DSCVR and Spotify's Emerge programs.


Listening to songs "1965" (above), "Ace of Hearts" and "Jerome" I hear a strong resemblance to Lana Del Rey's tonality and overall writing style. That being said, Day's sound is much more full-bodied, refined and versatile.

A creative in many aspects, Day, a recent freqenter of Nashville, spent a large amount of time writing with the likes of John Paul White of The Civil Wars and Meghan Trainor.

Kicker, named after an inspiring Apache man from her hometown in Arizona, streeted this week. What's next on the horizon is still uncertain, but I suspect greatness.

Drink the turquoise kool-aid and drift into a carefree daydream of emotionally charged indie-pop with this timeless siren.

xx,
Samantha Hissong