Jorja Smith has finally released ‘Addicted’, a brand-new music video that she has been hinting at dropping over the past week on social media. This is the R&B star’s first musical release since her dancehall-infused collaboration with Popcaan on ‘Come Over’ in October 2020.
Directed by Smith herself alongside Savanah Leaf, the music video sees the 23-year-old directly addressing the camera as the video transitions between various clips of Smith in different settings and outfits. These excerpts are framed as if they are part of a webcam or FaceTime call; thus, the video will resonate with a huge number of people that have been separated from their loved ones by three national lockdowns, and instead forced to communicate via technology.
The song itself describes an asymmetrical relationship where one partner is seeking the attention that other one is not giving. Discussing the track’s subject matter in a press release, the singer herself said that ‘Addicted’ was about “focussing on wanting the full attention of someone who’s not giving enough (or any) when they should be.” Notably, whilst the track is mostly delivered in first person, the song begins in third person, as Smith sings, “Too far in it, too far gone/ She knows what’s in it, she knows what’s wrong/ She just can’t quit it, her heart’s so numb/ Hurts to live it but worse to run.” In doing so, Smith generalises what is perhaps her own personal experience outwards to the potential experiences of her female listeners, who might have been to exposed to similarly neglectful behaviour.
Indeed, Smith’s songs frequently deal in the female experience, whether that is within a specific relationship or wider society. In her recent feature on the remix of ENNY’s ‘Peng Black Girls’ at the end of 2020, the singer dealt more specifically in the experience of Black British women in a track that addressed the treatment and stereotyping of Black women in the UK and rejected racialised societal beauty standards. Whilst ‘Addicted’ is not overtly political in the same way, it again emphasises the singer-songwriter’s desire to authentically represent the female experience.
It is now coming up to three years since Smith’s 2018 debut studio album ‘Lost & Found’, an album that exhibits the same flawless vocal delivery and ear for musical composition that can be found on ‘Addicted‘. Whilst there has been no official announcement regarding the artist’s sophomore album, fans will be hoping that the release of ‘Addicted’ is a precursor for a busy 2021 for Jorja Smith.
Check out the music video for ‘Addicted’ below:
