Rising Nigerian star Bella Alubo is here to make a point with her new single, "Oxygen." A slick mix of contemporary R&B and Afrobeats, Bella's track serves as an opulent introduction to her forthcoming album, Love Is War, and marks the first step toward Bella's daring move from Nigerian buzz to UK attention. "Oxygen" captivates with smoldering Afrobeats percussion set against dreamy, melodic synths. Co-written by Cheyenne Lavene and produced by Grammy-nominated Fresh Ayr, the track is a masterful blend of rhythmic drive and heartfelt narrative.
Bella's vocals effortlessly and elegantly skate across the track with a kind of openness and cool. She soaks up the tension of a woman treading the treacherous ground of a one-way relationship, hope and heartbreak lie side by side, and she never once loses her hold on you. The instrumentation carries a propulsive energy, but one that plays off of Bella's introspective delivery in a way that makes for a dynamic push and pull emblematic of the song's emotional narrative. It's a measure of Bella's growth as an artist, and she's not just singing about love and longing, she's living them, pulling her audience into her world.
As the opening release from "Love Is War," "Oxygen" holds the bar high for the rest of the album. It will bring the same kind of sophisticated storytelling and genre-blurring production that fans of Bella have come to expect. This single is a statement of intent, letting the world know Bella Alubo is an artist without borders or genre constraints. Bella Alubo reminds us why she's on the rise in contemporary music on "Oxygen." Universal yet profoundly personal in sound, this track is an immersive experience, one that keeps you on the edge of your seat, wondering what's next.
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