Nina Nesbitt has released two of the biggest pop songs of 2018 - It’s time to take notice.
Nina Nesbitt
With the release ‘Loyal To Me’ and ‘Somebody Special’ Nina Nesbitt has created two of the strongest pop tracks of the year, it’s time for people to start paying attention.
Last week Nina Nesbitt released ‘Loyal To Me’ the latest single from her yet untitled second album. A fierce 90’s diva influenced pop song tailor-made for the millennial generation, which I’m sure anyone stuck in those annoying early stages of dating can relate to. Featuring top-level production by the wonderful Frazer T Smith, who was responsible for the majority of Stormzy’s award-winning debut album alongside Nesbitt’s trademark clever, engaging melody writing and lyrics designed for the modern teenager. It’s easy to see why the track was considered by Nesbitt for Little Mix with its harmonies and girl group style of rhythm. without a doubt, the song should be a sure-fire hit.
The single now also has a very well choreographed video (watch below) which see’s Nesbitt break out of her comfort zone to film her first dance routine for a music video. You really wouldn’t assume from the terrific end result of the video that this was Nesbitt’s first full routine. Reminiscent of Dua Lipa’s ‘New Rules’ the video embraces girl power for a very confident performance from Nesbitt and the small ensemble.
Both have gone down incredibly well with fans and fellow artists but it’s annoyingly not getting the attention it deserves by both charts and main press. Despite plays on Radio 1 and prominent placing on Spotify it just doesn’t seem to be reaching mainstream audiences. This is nothing new for Nesbitt, her debut album ‘Peroxide’ received unnecessary and bitter cynicism from the NME who couldn’t even be arsed to deliver a proper critical overview of one of the years most underrated pop records.
Everyone’s entitled to an opinion, and I fully support justly criticising poor music but in Peroxide’s case it seemed a lazy effort by the NME to bury an album they’d already preconceived options about, specifically based on its genre and Nesbitt’s sound not fitting the NME mould. From most critics, It received favourable reviews with the Guardian classing Nesbitt as filling the gap in the market to be “the next Taylor Swift” and AllMusic declaring “Peroxide showcases Nesbitt's sweet voice and personal yet universally relatable lyrics, which she frames in bright, often acoustic piano and guitar-driven arrangements.”
Moving on, now independent with a strong passionate team behind here, Nesbitt’s sound has definitely matured, now showing an artist who isn’t afraid to experiment. One constant that remains however, is Nesbitt’s smart songwriting which has flourished throughout her career. ‘Loyal To Me’ isn’t even the first example of that this year. Going all the way back at the start of the year, Nesbitt released the acoustic meets electro-pop ‘Somebody Special’ which placed a renewed focus on the Scottish singers light yet impressive vocals.
This all follows on from a successful 2017 which should have put Nesbitt firmly back on everyone’s radar when she released the fierce ballad ’The Best You Had’. Not to mention some of the other excellent material Nesbitt has released over the past couple years as she’s established her own sound. the sombre and progressive ballad “The Sun Will Come Up, The Seasons Will Change” and the autobiographical, introspective collaboration with Moody Grace “The Moments I’m Missing” both come straight to mind.
Ultimately it feels as if the pop landscape is missing out on one of Britain’s best female singer-songwriters. Nesbitt has a proven talent for writing and creating fantastic songs whether it be more upbeat pop anthems such as ‘Loyal To Me’ or emotion-filled ballads such as ‘Somebody Special’. I hope by the time Nesbitt’s second album is nearing release the rest of the UK catches onto these tracks and Nina receives the success she deserves, she's still young and I wouldn't be surprised if she starts making giant leaps through venues in the next few years to come till then we’ll just have to keep jamming to ‘Loyal To Me’ on repeat.