header image: karlee girl's 'right back!' music video
words: aggy kazlauskas
real music is sooo back!
it’s not even june yet but karlee girl’s breezy single ‘right back!’ might just snatch the song of the summer title this year. the track’s slinky production, which incorporates punchy kicks and sizzling synths, perfectly captures the carefree nature of summer heat and days at the beach.
speaking of the lyrics, karlee girl revealed that the song’s chorus (“when it hit me like that, aye / imma give it right back) is inspired by a saying in honolulu, hawai’i, where she originally hails from. according to the singer, the expression is often used to describe bouncing back from failure “whenever someone had a shitty moment” in their lives.
“i love the concept of being able to have a really simple phrase that makes the complicated and big situations suddenly not big and complicated,” karlee girl explained. “yeah, this phrase just kept coming up and eventually became the name of the song.”
‘right back!’, which dropped in february, is a catchy number that finds the pop-r&b musician in a lane of her own – and now, she returns with a sunkissed music video co-directed by maddie abiera and mao kawakami.
karlee girl’s year long stint as a hybe trainee on dream academy lends itself to a tightly choreographed dance routine in the clip, which is set against the backdrop of an energetic pool party. the storytelling here is straightforward, but that’s not to say it’s dull or boring – in fact, the video features moments of comedy and goofiness, which allow karlee girl’s sense of humour to cut through the veil of perfectionism. and in that exact moment, it’s obvious that a main pop girl status is waiting for her in the future.
you might recognise karlee girl from netflix’s popstar academy documentary about the reality talent competition that formed katseye, but make no mistake about it – she is a star in her own right.
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