London-based singer and poet Arlo Parks premiered her latest single ‘Hurt’ today, sharing it as Annie Mac’s Hottest Record on her BBC Radio 1 show. Temporarily filling in for Mac is fellow DJ and presenter Clara Amfo, who interviewed the artist, and played the song for the first time.
Hurt is out tomorrow. My heart is bursting I’m so ready to bring this bop into your lives. Don’t forget to smash that pre-save link. Wishing you butter toast n immaculate vibes. https://t.co/nr721GnajQ pic.twitter.com/hT8GwSh12J
— Arlo Parks (@arloparks) August 17, 2020
Kicking off the conversation, Amfo praised Parks’ use of spoken word in the third verse, and asked how it came about. To this, she replied, “I’ve always really been inspired by like poetry and spoken word and hip-hop, and I felt like story telling was at the heart of this song, and I kind of wanted to add a bit more visual imagery into the track.” She also said that she had been “a little bit nervous” to include it.
Written at a friends’ apartment, the upbeat song contains some loaded lyrics, such as “Wouldn’t it be lovely to feel something for once/Wouldn’t it be lovely to feel worth something.” But, it offers a solitude in the chorus, with the words “I know you can’t let go of anything at the moment/Just know it won’t hurt so much forever.” The songwriter explained, “There are some tricky topics tackled but I wanted it to be something playful,” and this was certainly achieved.
‘Hurt’ was co-written by Parks and Gianluca Buccellati, who also produced the track. Prior to the release, Parks shared a video online, commenting, “My heart is bursting I’m so ready to bring this bop into your lives.” Despite how little the video gave away, fans were excited to listen and view the music video. ‘Hurt’ is out now via Transgressive Records, and Parks has asked fans to let her know how the song makes them feel, hoping that it can uplift them and wishing that everyone is “being sweet to themselves”.
Hurt is out now! I hope it brings you joy and uplifts you even if it’s only in a small way – I’d love to know how it makes you feel – hope everyone’s being sweet to themselves https://t.co/nr721GnajQ Alexandra Waespi pic.twitter.com/a40RNUc2Px — Arlo Parks (@arloparks) August 18, 2020
At only 20 years old, the singer-songwriter has achieved much success, releasing her most moving song to date, ‘Black Dog’, earlier this year. Furthermore, she has featured on songs with Easy Life and Future Utopia, appeared on Michelle Obama’s podcast playlist, and partnered with Amazon Music’s Breakthrough programme for new artists. Parks has confirmed that she is working on her debut album, but nothing has been publicly announced yet.
