Sofia Gillani Is Back With Her New Single "BLEED"

“I’m not helpless.” This sentence begins the chorus of Sofia Gillani’s new song, “BLEED,” which was released on September 29th. Within the first 16 seconds of the song, the production immerses us into Gillani’s world, setting up a dominant melody that would allow the audience to familiarize themselves with the beat. The beat is easy to follow and catchy, which aids Gilliani’s lyrics throughout the song. The beat also helps develop the story and emotion Gillani’s lyrics are trying to convey, allowing space for the audience to focus on the content of the song.

With the vocal space the bear gives her, Gillani infuses the single with an emotion that impacts the listener. With lyrics like “loving's a new part of me,” featured in the first verse, and “I’m not helpless,” an essential line in the chorus, the song allows audiences to gravitate to Gillani’s message and relate to it. Gillani has an impressive capacity to convey her raw feelings, which is vital in pulling off slower pop anthems.

The vocal production of this song was improved from Gillani’s last single, L.E.D., however, there were some points where the vocal performance faltered. For example, the chorus features the lines “I am not helpless,” and “let it bleed.” These two lines are the strongest points vocally and add to the climax of the song. But in both moments, I caught my ear drifting to flat notes and areas that could have benefitted from touch-ups with autotune, or a retake of the vocals.

There were timing issues as well which comes at the very top of the second chorus. It seems the lyrics, “the disco ball fell from the ceiling,” came in a tad later than the beat, which interrupted the already established flow of the song. These elements are areas that could cause the audience to tune out of the song and key into the perceived mistakes the artists may have made, distracting from the song as a whole. But despite these places of weakness, the single still shines and captivates the listener.

With Gillani’s unique sound and comfortability in her artistry, it is safe to say that this single is only the beginning of her flourishing, young career. Gillani’s new single “BLEED,” can be found on SoundCloud under her name Sofia Gillani.