Wens unveiled her major-label debut EP, Lemoncholy, on Friday (March 20).
On the succinct six-track project, the rising pop singer turns the sour, melancholy tang of life’s woes into proverbial lemonade in the form of incisive sharply-rendered pop narratives — from the fantasy-building daydream of “Beauty Queen” to the shrugging takedown of party culture on “After the Party Ends.”
Arriving Warner Records, the EP also features previously-released tracks including the lush “Rich & Famous” — on which Wens questions the shallow nature of today’s influencer-fueled celebrity culture — and latest single “Cinderella.”
To mark Lemoncholy‘s release, the rising pop singer broke down the inspiration behind every song, exclusively to Billboard. Check out her track-by-track commentary below.
“Tongue Tied”
I remember feeling pretty anxious before arriving to the studio the day I made this song. When I’m nervous, I either word vomit or I can’t get a proper sentence out. There really is no in-between. I kept going into the bathroom just to avoid talking. On one of my pee trips, I wrote down, “I’m really bad at first impressions, I never know what to say, cuz I get tongue tied in the brain.”
When I came back into the room, they had started this progression and I sang that line over it super conversationally and it felt right pretty immediately. I wanted to make it a little more playful so the idea of seeing someone for the first time while out at a party and not knowing how to talk to them felt pretty funny to me. I think we’ve definitely all been there before.
“Beauty Queen”
I had a big crush on a guy who was a full decade older than me. He treated me like a little sister, and that of course only made me want him ten times more. This song was my way of building a fantasy, like, “What if I had a time machine and traveled back in time and went to high school with him? Would we have been sweethearts? Would we have rode off into the sunset on a majestic horse?” Too bad the world will never know.
“Rich & Famous”
Growing up in L.A. had tons of pros and cons. I quickly learned just because people had nice cars and a giant mansion didn’t necessarily make them happy. We live in a culture that praises people with the most followers and biggest numbers, and if you don’t have a following then you’re really nothing. It’s hard to not feed into the numbers game especially when it’s how our society measures success. It’s pretty black and white.
At the end of the day you could have all the money in the world and if you’re not happy with your life, then it doesn’t really matter. I wrote this song from an extremely frustrated place. Starting to question the point in following your dream when most days all you’re met with is rejection. I felt sorry for myself for all of 10 seconds then I remembered I do this because I love it and there’s nothing else I’d rather painfully pursue.
“Cinderella”
I find the “Cinderella complex” fascinating: the idea that anyone would need another half in order to feel whole is interesting, and for me, not where I’m coming from. I really just want to empower young people to think of themselves as a whole human and look to relationships to add to their life, not complete it.
It goes deeper too; I remember a few times when I was younger playing princess dress-up with friends and being told, “You can be Jasmine or Pocahontas,” and being confused, like, “Why only those two?” I guess that stuck with me and became something I was proud of, like, “Okay, you see me as this and that’s fine, ’cause I don’t really wanna be what our society deems as normal anyway.”
“After the Party Ends”
I started writing this song one morning when I was hungover. I have a hard time at parties. They feel kind of soulless and usually make me feel pretty lonely. I wanted this to be a song for all of the people that feel the same way, but still so desperately want to have a good time. At the end of the day, the less serious you take things, the more fun life becomes.
“Forest Fire”
The whole song is this internal dialogue I’m having with myself. Talking to the darkest parts of me asking them for some understanding. Like, “Yo it doesn’t have to be this way. You can actually love yourself more than hate yourself. In fact, you’ll feel so much better by giving yourself positive affirmations.” But I think we can definitely be our own worst enemy. My negative thoughts are sometimes so consuming that I wish I could just set them on fire and make them stop.
It’s dramatic, I know. That’s where the lyric “I’m gonna start a forest fire in my heart” comes from. I made this song in my bedroom with a longtime collaborator, Jordan Riley. You can even hear birds chirping at the beginning ’cause it was a voice memo of my piano and I forgot to close the windows. Laughs]
