“No matter where you come from or how you grew up, you can choose where you want to go and what you want to be,” Julietta told American Songwriter.
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On Wednesday, Julietta dropped a new song entitled “Levitate” and announced a forthcoming EP by the same name. For the New York native, obtaining the self-determination encouraged in the quote above hasn’t always been so easy, which is something she explores in the new single. With an exciting and glossy sound, Julietta’s music is a warm, delicious bite of the indie-pop pie… that is to say, her music is both empowering and undeniably dancey.
“You are in charge, and you can make anything happen,” she said. “I grew up in a family that had an image for me, they thought they knew what I should be before they got to know me. Not only my family but also my New York/Sicilian culture, my neighborhood, my friends. I had to get away from everyone to really meet ‘me’ and have ‘me’ settle into myself, into my voice. This song was written through my empowered sense of self, the proud version of me that knows that if I made it this far, I can make it anywhere.”
And Julietta has made it far, first debuting in 2017 and racking up millions of streams since then. Geographically, she’s gone pretty far too — relocating from her native East Coast to sunny Los Angeles, California, where she recorded “Levitate.”
“This song was made between Jordan Topf’s rehearsal space in East Los Angeles and Sean Silverman’s West Hollywood apartment,” Julietta said. “We recorded as we wrote it! My vocals have always been on the super chill side, so ‘Levitate’ was a great challenge for me. It proved to me that I can belt it out, it inspired my shy reserved side to melt away.”
In that regard, the music of “Levitate” reflects the song’s lyrical empowerment. This serves as a fine example of how closely connected music and self-understanding are for Julietta.
“I write at my best when I have had that ‘a-ha’ moment,” she said. “When I am in the middle of going through something emotionally tumultuous, it gets hard to sit down and write a song about it. I need the experience to come through full-circle to really understand the message I am getting, the lesson I am experiencing. Once I can clearly understand the experience, the song flows naturally from me to you.”
Listen to Julietta’s new single “Levitate” below:
