L.A.'s Aly Ryan has been building momentum over the past several years with a string of vibrant singles exploring dance, electronic and hip-hop textures. The independent artist ended 2019 on a high note with the sensual, slow-burning single, "Future Memories," and she's kicking off 2020 with a similarly alluring song.
Today, Ryan shares "You Ain't Him" exclusively Billboard. It's a breathy, spacious, R&B-tinged pop track featuring a verse from Houston rapper Ugly God. Both Ryan and Ugly God's lyrics focus on themes of love, devotion, and loss, which Ryan expanded on in a statement to Billboard:
"Once or twice in a lifetime someone comes along that you have an undeniable connection with. The type of connection that makes you want to spend the rest of your life with that person, no questions asked. When it doesn't work out you feel jaded, you become numb because you harden under that loss. You find yourself talking to other people and soon you realize that no one even comes close to that feeling because it was perfect. That's what it feels like when you meet the love of your life. You can feel a physical connection with other people, you can even love others, but you just know they're not the one. You're just running through lovers trying to find yourself, trying to fill the void. It's a form of medicating yourself. You end up spending all these years — sometimes even decades — wondering if anyone will ever be able to make you feel that way again but all you know for the time being is they ain't him."
"You Ain't Him" goes wide on streaming services tomorrow (Jan. 10) but you can listen today exclusively on Billboard below.
For more on Ryan, check out her past projects we've premiered here at Billboard: her 2018 electropop track "Facetime" featuring YNW Melly and her hooky 2017 debut EP The Misfits.
