One of my earliest memories of interacting with YouTube is finding a short, one minute and fifty-four second video of two sisters singing. This was around the time that Pitch Perfect came out with the cup song and soon, everyone was using cups to make beats for songs.
These two young, creative and talented sisters sat singing âCall Your Girlfriendâ by Robyn in front of what looked like a paper bag type material background each underneath their names, Lennon and Maisy. Their soulful sounding voices flowed so perfectly with each other and took the world by storm. Soon enough after making more videos, the girls were cast on the CMT show, Nashville, where they stayed on the show for all of its six seasons.
Lennon Stella, the nineteen year old Canadian born singer has released her own EP after long awaited years. Love, me which was released on Nov. 16, has easily shown that Miss Lennon Stella means business. But not only that, sheâs also incredibly passionate about her music and getting her listeners to feel exactly what she feels as she sings. I donât even know guys, she just gets it. Go find Love, me and let me explain…
Bad
This was her first song off the EP which was released as a single back in September. The first time I had heard it, I was vibing along with the catchy beat and tune, but I wasnât really following along with the lyrics that unfold a story we all know way too well in our own ways.
âI wish that you would have treated me bad, the truth is you couldnât have loved me better, now Iâm left feeling twice as sad, I wish you would have treated me bad.â The way I took this: the break-up hurt so much more because you actually were good to me and you did all of the right things (technically). If you had treated me badly, then I would be more pissed than sad. And sometimes when dealing with a breakup, being pissed helps get over things a lot more.
Of course, the situation in the song is much different from the situation that I was reminded of from my past but still, it resonated with me. Itâs an interesting take on a time where youâve been cheated on because Lennon seems to be almost commemorating him on how good he did with hiding it. He treated her âjust like a princessâ where âevery answer was always yesâ and had her âliving in a dreamâ but really, he forgot to mention that heâd âbeen seeing someone else for six years.â Ouch. Honestly, props to her for taking this incredibly wise outlook on the situation. Â
Breakaway
Because this was another single before the EP had come out, I had previously heard it and fell in love. Deeply in love. As someone who is used to feeling every kind of emotion under the sun who then went to feeling absolutely nothing (and sometimes still has issues with that), hearing her simply say, âI apologize, my emotions are hidin,â I felt understood and almost envious that she had written it before I had. While itâs so simple, itâs so elegant and perfectly captures how it feels (pun intended) when you canât feel anything. Itâs just one of those lines that if you get it, you really get it.
Itâs incredible how sheâs connected the lyrics to the music as well; it all just completes one another. âBreakawayâ is all about how the world can be too much sometimes, and how life and growing up can easily get out of hand which leads to this uncontrollable feeling of wanting to flee.
Our fight or flight instincts kick in and âthe ground and the ceiling seem to be disappearing.â Therefore, we can only fly and break away. The pre-chorus and chorus work so seemingly flawless together, itâs as if Lennon had taken a pin and needle to thread them together, and pulled so tightly that itâs quite impossible to have one without the other; theyâre a perfect fit.
The chorus itself is uncomplicated and clear, the opposite of what one in this position would feel. It clicks together what those who experience this have a hard time putting together themselves. Thank you Lennon for literally putting our discomfort and ruffled thoughts into a beautiful song. Â
Feelings
Oh gosh, this song. This is one that makes me laugh because automatically my mind thinks about times where I wanted to scream this chorus but didnât because I was too afraid to. âFeelingsâ is your thoughts when itâs just become too late for someone; youâve moved on, youâre completely over it and NOW they want to talk about things.
Instead of talking it through the second you asked them to, they come to you months later with honesty. Yeah babe, sorry, âI donât want to talk about your feelings, I donât want to listen as you feel âem.â The overused line that has to be experienced for one to know is true, âyou donât know what you have till itâs goneâ is a big theme in this song. This is a song for those who have had people come back into their life who had promised that theyâve changed and that they have time now for this relationship.
But things are much different now for you. You know that youâre better than going back to someone who had to take all that time to find things and bring it back to you…you know that you deserve someone who would have had brought it all to you already.
[Image Taken from Lennon Stella’s Instagram]Â
La Di Da
If you happen to pass me while Iâm driving and see me holding my ears as I scream words you canât hear, Iâm probably listening to this song. The dancing-jitter-bug makes a return! The second you hit play and hear the initial beat drop after Lennon does a soft introduction to set the scene, your foot will be tapping and your head will be bopping.
There are loads of people in the world who will always have the last word, spread unnecessary and childish drama thatâs said to hurt others. âLa Di Daâ captures what plays in your head when youâre face to face with someone like that and theyâre discussing their unwanted words. âYouâre gunna say something you donât mean so just before you take it too far, Iâll hold my ears, say La Da Da Di DaâŠâ I couldnât have said it better myself, Lennon. When youâre dealing with people that live for drama, this is exactly how you have to handle it. Block âem out, baby!
This song is ferociously catchy and automatically puts the listener in a good mood. Itâs fun, thrilling and youthful sounding.
Fortress
Iâd like to say that Lennon has saved the best for last but really, all of these songs are truly outstanding in their own ways. âFortressâ speaks on behalf of those of us who have decided to just put up a wall that blocks out a specific person. Theyâve messed us up so much that theyâve âturned a lover to a savageâ and weâre at the point where weâre fed up with being messed around with. We arenât a doll that can be placed on a shelf when they find other toys to keep them occupied; we wonât wait around to be picked back up.
âYou donât get in my brain, you donât fill up the spaces, I donât whisper your name now that I built a fortress.â By building this wall up, weâre taking charge of what we allow into our lives and what âmessesâ with us, per say. I for one, know exactly what Lennon means when she says, âSo badly wanted something so, I let you keep takinâ me up, up, in the madness.â When things in life are at a standstill, specifically a love life, we have a tendency to latch onto anything that is given to us to fill that void. And when you long for something so much, youâll take what you can and try hard to mold it to be what you want.
But thatâs not how things work a lot of the time⊠if you need to build a fortress to keep someone out of your brain and to keep them from messing with you, then do it. Build up that damn wall and lock them out. Be your own protector and stand with your head held tall, guarding your heart.
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Love, me is just a small peak inside of Lennon Stellaâs intricate mind, the abilities she possesses when it comes to making people feel things and the ability to be so precise in describing what she feels. Itâs safe to say that I cannot wait to see what this one has up her sleeve. I have a feeling this is just the very beginning of her.