Lauren Aquilina Is Back and Better Than Ever

Published on Affinity Magazine

Two years ago, singer/songwriter Lauren Aquilina released her debut album, “Isn’t It Strange?” Almost immediately after, she announced she would be discontinuing releasing music under her own name, instead choosing to pursue writing for other artists. She was unhappy with the way the music industry had treated her and the toll it was taking on her mental health. After being forced to release songs she felt unconnected to and was unhappy with, she quit music and pursued entirely different fields. She knew she needed out, and that if she were to come back to music, it had to be for a very good reason.

Now, in a dazzling return to pop music, she’s released her first single since – “Psycho.”

In an ode to all the girls out there who have been called crazy, (extra points if you’ve been labeled the “crazy ex-girlfriend”) Aquilina writes about her experience of showing up at her ex-boyfriend’s house in the middle of the night and crying on his front stoop until he came out and found her. And all this whilst being completely sober. It’s the kind of melodramatic story that you hear songs about so often that you start to wonder if that kind of thing actually happens in real life.

At first, Aquilina never expected to release this song under her own name. She had tried time and again to give it over to other artists (with Little Mix floating around it for a while) before determining that this song was so brilliant she couldn’t not release it. “Psycho” was the sole reason for her return to music, and if that isn’t enough to give you an idea of how fantastic this song is- prepare yourselves.

Aquilina breathes fresh air into the idea of the psycho ex-girlfriend and has produced a song for the ages. What began as “just a bass guitar and a vocal” is now a smashing, brazen rallying cry- an embodiment of everything a girl isn’t supposed to be and everything she actually is. On one hand, it sprung from reality, but on the other, Aquilina has no qualms with making fun of herself and the craziness behind the story, embellishing the tune until you are forced to reckon with this chaotic picture of obsession.

“Psycho” is not so much a complete departure from her old sound but rather an evolution.

This song is everything Aquilina could have been if she had proper creative control over her debut album. With over 100,000 streams in just a few days and a spot on Spotify’s New Music Friday, this song is destined to top the charts. Believe me, you’ll have this on repeat for weeks to come.