Australian-born and Nashville-based alt-pop artist Felicity releases her latest single, “Half Sad,” a lo-fi, glitter-glazed daydream that captures the hazy in-betweens of numbness and nostalgia. Co-written with Johnny Gates, Austin Luther (Winona Fighter), and Asia Whiteacre (Tate McRae, Bebe Rexha), “Half Sad” is a quietly devastating and personal introspective track.

The song opens with dreamy acoustic guitar backed by ambient textures, leading to a trap beat that sets a steady tempo throughout. Felicity’s powerhouse vocals, often compared to a fusion of Amy Winehouse’s grit and Florence + The Machine's, create a sense of emotional intensity. Empowered through the weaving layers of harmonies, the vocals add to the depth of the emotional haziness and confusion through her disorienting lyrics. The chorus is a space where emotional vulnerability and escapism coexist.

“Half Sad” follows a string of recent singles, including “3 Martinis” and “I Know Why They’re Screaming,” in addition to her 2024 debut EP, You Take Me To Dinner But You’ll Never Feed My Soul, all of which contain the similar sounds of lo-fi pop shown through transparent lyrics. Felicity began her passion for songwriting at 15 years old and has been using music as an outlet for personal emotional storytelling, which resonates with her audience.

“Who’s that looking at me in the passenger seat / Eyes black and she kind of looks a little like me”

The chorus reflects the confusion of identity loss and emotional exhaustion through poetic imagery. Illustrating self-alienation and feeling almost out of body. Looking back at someone whom she doesn’t recognize, sitting in the passenger seat, as if she’s not in control of her life. Further depicted through eyes, which are the identity of a person, she becomes unrecognizable to herself through the image of having black eyes.

"Half sad full faded like her low rise jeans / Lo-fi dreams”

The closing lyric of 'Lo-Fi Dreams' creates a hazy and relaxed atmosphere that helps Felicity cope with feelings of burnout and numbness to everyday life. This sense of escapism is a coping mechanism where she can retreat to find peace in the confusion of burnout and identity.

Finding numbness in the acceptance of reality, Felicity shares her vulnerability on how she feels:

“I don’t ever feel super happy, but I’m never on the brink of hopelessness. I feel numb a lot,” Felicity shares.

“There’s so much inspiration lyrically when you’re going through it - being a little depressed and numb inside. Everyone I talk to is on the same sh*it, on the newest SSRI and feeling a little dead inside… and I’m like, same girl, here’s the soundtrack.”

“Half Sad” speaks to a generation of people who feel burnt out and are floating in the in-between of feeling broken and whole. Numbness is the acceptance of what is, and that is exactly what this song is: finding comfort in the closure of understanding that our pain is shared and a universal feeling.

With a dreamy ambiance of alt-pop production, honest lyricism, and entrancing vocals that evoke a sense of calm, Felicity reminds us that drifting through a hazy daydream can lead to an outlook of self-discovery. Listen to “Half Sad” to experience the dreamy soundscape of numbness and nostalgia.

ALT-POP ARTIST FELICITY TURNS DISSOCIATION INTO A HAZY DAYDREAM IN NEW SINGLE “HALF SAD”

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