Out of all of the artists I could expect to release one last smash hit before summer comes to a close, newcomer Hailee Steinfeld definitely wasn’t on my radar. If you haven’t seen her singing debut in the massively successful sequel Pitch Perfect 2, then you probably weren’t expecting Steinfeld’s name to be seen alongside other summer hits, but she’s got the talent and motivation to take her career to new heights. After recording and working on her music for the past couple of years, the Oscar-nominated star is ready to give the world a taste of what she’s been cooking up.
Produced by Mattman & Robin (Taylor Swift’s “All You Had To Do Was Stay,” Tove Lo’s “Moments), “Love Myself” is the type of song any popular artist would want to release right now. The message is powerful, telling girls to love themselves, and it keeps the trend of empowering pop singles laid over over catchy beats going. At first listen, I couldn’t get over the earworm effect this song has. The lyrics are written so that, as a listener, you can interpret them in one of two ways, depending on your definition of love: “I’m gonna put my body first / And love me so hard ‘til it hurts / I know how to scream my own name.” Forgive my corrupt brain, maybe the internet has damaged it over the years, but “Love Myself” reminds me of what Dr. Luke likes to do with his lyrics, crafting them to the point where a hidden meaning can be decoded after a few listens. It probably won’t matter though, because the production is infectious enough to make you love it anyway.
Hailee Steinfeld caters to a younger audience, so I’m glad the track isn’t overtly sexual, but it still has enough of an edge to get the demographic hitting the clubs to make “Love Myself” their new anthem to sing in their empty apartments with a bottle of wine. Plus, can we discuss Steinfeld’s voice? I knew the budding songstress could sing from seeing Pitch Perfect 2, but I hadn’t realize how unique her voice was until my fifth time hearing this song on repeat. I haven’t heard enough songs to know if Steinfeld has some powerhouse vocals waiting to come out, but she definitely has a distinctive sound (Hailee’s cover of “Stitches” with Shawn Mendes is another example of her potential) that will help her structure the upcoming album.