Lily Meola’s latest single “Without You” is finally here! This song is a self-discovery anthem, navigating through the feelings of a breakup. Lily sets the scene of the relationship in the first verse, remarking about how young and in love they were. They “danced..under a disco of headlights” together when he told Lily he loved her, but it wasn’t true. She’s grateful that he tried, but she wishes that a “heart could break in a straight line.” Lily feels like she finally felt good enough in the chorus, but then he told her that they’d be better off apart. She pretends to think that he looks “better from a distance,” but she knows that’s a lie. But by the end of the chorus, she realizes that she feels the same with or without this guy. Lily delves into all the red flags with their relationship as time went on, saying he “turned heaven to hell,” and he made sure she felt it. She felt that this guy put a spell on her, even if it wasn’t real. She asks about his new girl too: “is she pretty/does she know about me,” trying to validate her own feelings. The line “if only a heart could break in a straight line” perfectly sums up the song: feeling you got the short end of the stick in a breakup, and trying to recover from it.
Lily wonderfully fuses pop, rock, country, and folk all into one song. The production is upbeat which contrasts the sad lyrics and melody. A guitarist herself, she has strong and catchy acoustic guitar melodies throughout the track. A piano synth is featured at the beginning of the track, which takes on an old, seasoned piano you would find at your grandparents house. As for Lily’s voice, it’s beautifully unique. The vocal effects applied to the song, whether that be layering, harmonies, echoes, it adds depth to the melancholic vibe of the song. It’s clear that time and detail went into the post-production of the whole track, but especially on the vocals. Luke Niccoli produced this track, who has credits ranging from Gwen Stefani, Keith Urban, and Joji.
Lily Meola is a singer-songwriter born and raised in Maui, Hawaii. Her love of music stemmed from the passenger seat of her mom’s car, where she heard some of the greats: Ella Fitzgerald, Joni Mitchell, and Carole King. She started performing locally in bars at age 11, but people first started hearing her name with her duet with family friend Willie Nelson in 2013. She was also featured on season 17 of America’s Got Talent, and got 3rd place. In an interview with Rolling Stones, she delved into the struggle of dealing with her mothers death, who lost her life to cancer in 2020. She goes to the beach, bakes, and visits her friends, like Willie Nelson’s son Lukas Nelson. Lily has been releasing music since 2016, with her album “They Say.” Since then, her single “Daydream” off her 2022 EP “Daydream” has garnered over 52 million streams, and boasts over 1.4 million monthly listeners on Spotify. There’s no telling what heights Lily will reach with her meaningful lyrics and her pure love and talent for her craft.
Written By Lauren DiGiovanni
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