Photo by Cal & Aly
Premiere: Michelle Brooke transforms negativity into strength with new song, ‘Light It Up’
The soulful singer pulls back the reigns for a muted but commanding performance.
Michelle Brooke made one of the most impressive splashes last year with “Storm,” a towering whirlwind performance. It has, deservedly enough, sent her careening on a collision course for superstardom. Now, with a more muted, smoldering entry called “Light It Up,” premiering today on B-Sides & Badlands, she displays great restraint but never skimps on the venomous lyrical spears. “You like me dirty and insecure / You come for me when you can’t feel no more,” she confronts a barrage of toxicity with a raw bark.
She never cowers from her truth, letting the dominos fall as they may. “You bring the match and beg me for the flame / Praying, light it up / Let it burn,” she ignites a fiery warpath in her wake, smoldering and relentless. A sultry guitar line stokes the flames as they rise and fall with her soulful vocal performance. She locks her jaw further on the hook: “Keep taking turns / Light it up / Save your words / If we’re going under, better get to work / Light it up / Oh…”
“Light It Up” lingers in the air, an expressive tear-down of the kind of hate that permeates every facet of our lives. On the song, Brooke writes over email: “In my adult life, I’ve recently experienced negative criticism because of my beliefs, faith, and sexuality. Being openly bisexual, supporting equal and gay rights, and even being a consumer of alcohol has at times given cause for others (strangers and peers) to call my character into question,” she says. “Hearing this song makes me feel strong because while I did struggle, I did not cave in or change myself to a version of what someone else wanted me to be. I dedicate this song to anyone who’s ever felt judged, criticized, or demeaned by another person, even by someone close to them. You are you, and that is enough. ”
“Light It Up,” off her forthcoming EP Let the Light In, out everywhere April 10, wraps up her wounds with a soothing resilience. Brooke tosses the poison that’s long caused her unimaginable pain and trades in for a mighty warrior strength.
Listen below:
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