SAVANNA LEIGH FINDS HER VOICE, AND FREEDOM, IN NEW EP FOR YOUR ENTERTAINMENT
There’s a special type of magic that resides in music that feels like it knows you — the type that doesn’t simply tell a story, but invites you into one. Using a vulnerable, healing quality, Savanna Leigh captures this magic with her most recent EP, for your entertainment. With her open-hearted words and dreamy acoustic pop instrumentals, Leigh naturally allows her listeners to confront their own emotions and patterns in a way that further guides them on their journey of self growth.
Graphic by Rosi Martens (Crave Music Magazine)
Leigh fed her musical urge with her early roots in piano and guitar, and even began honing her skills as a songwriter at just twelve years old. This passion stayed with her throughout her childhood and teen years when she performed with her sister, then blossomed as a solo artist in 2020. The Florida-born, Nashville-based singer-songwriter continues to evolve both musically and personally, and this growth is strikingly apparent throughout this EP. Swirling together her early inspirations like Kelly Clarkson and Shania Twain, Leigh has created a work of music that truly solidifies both her voice as an artist, and her place in the indie-pop world.
“you don’t exist yet”
The opening track gracefully reels the listener in with gentle acoustic strumming and Leigh’s soft, sweet vocals. Immediately, the listener is enveloped in a daydream-like atmosphere as the song begins to drift between reflection and romantic fantasy. Leigh indulges in this fantasy as she muses, “You don’t even exist yet / Can’t help but picture if you did /You’d get along with my friends / No second guessing.” When the light, steady beat of the drum comes in, it adds to the gentle, yet controlled sonic layers within the song that engage the listener once again. Leigh reaches out to the people who are comfortable in their independence, but still have that romantic itch that they desperately want to scratch, “Go out alone / But it’s getting old if I’m honest.” As the instrumentals subtly swell throughout the song, it mimics the growing hope one can experience when imagining the future love they wish to have. In a world full of dating apps, mixed signals, and situationships, this track is for the overthinkers who get lost in their dreams of sincerity and connection.
“cut to the chase”
As the listener comes down from the cloudy daydream of “you don’t exist yet,” they are met with the humbling, yet relatable, reality of dating in your twenties with “cut to the chase.” With light, boppy guitar strums, Leigh opens the song with a painfully relatable scene of a bad date: “Some dumb Italian restaurant / He’s quoting lines of Descartes.” The listener gets a sense of her internal monologue that feels like they’re sitting beside her as she writes in her diary. Leigh effortlessly captures the mind-numbing repetition of putting yourself out there, only to get your hopes up and expectations shattered after one date. As a result of this, personal walls are built higher and higher each day to protect from heartbreak. It's a vicious, exhausting cycle as Leigh sings, “Once I make space / Maybe then I won’t be missing / Every good thing / Or every could be,” expressing how because of her habit of pushing people away, it’s driving the possibility of getting the connection she longs for farther and farther away. The intention behind the instrumentals within this song provides a cinematic element, with the drums creeping in and dropping out at the most opportune moments. With Leigh’s smooth voice floating over the song, she expresses the universal emotions of detachment, disappointment, and emotional fatigue, simply wanting to “cut to the chase” and skip all the ache that comes with suffocating patterns.
“tightrope”
The ballad of the EP, “tightrope,” is a soul-stomping track about the unraveling of a friendship. However, due to Leigh’s heart-driven lyrics, the listeners have the ability to apply it to the death of any close relationship. Leigh’s voice truly stands out on this track — the bitter understanding and restrained emotion coursing through her vocals only make the song sink deeper into the listeners’ hearts. The stark awareness as she confesses, “Was it having a best friend / Or was I just codependent?” is an emotional punch to the gut, as it has the ability to unintentionally call out whoever is listening. After the last chorus, the song transitions into the bridge as Leigh’s voice is laced with heart-wrenching realization as she belts, “‘Cause it’ll never be the same as it was.” The acoustic strumming hardens into a crescendo that soon gives way to a heavy bass drum pulsing, further building the emotion that intensifies the next words as she pleads, “And I know we’re not from the same bloodline / But I thought I’d know you for a lifetime.” There is an aching clarity enveloping the song, making “tightrope” one of Leigh’s most vocally strong and emotionally mature moments yet.
“for your entertainment”
The final, and title track, of the EP “for your entertainment” brings all the songs and the stories they tell, full circle. In earlier tracks, the struggle to let go of control and to accept the uncontrollable is sprinkled throughout, but this song is a powerhouse for finding empowerment in surrender. The bounciness in the acoustic intro and optimistic air of the horns bring such a light when pulling the listener into the chorus — “With the sun in my eyes / I can’t see where to go / Never felt more alive.” The track touches on the harsh act of relinquishing control, and learning that in order to keep your authenticity, you sometimes have to release other people’s expectations of you. In the EP’s last moments, the instrumentals are stripped down as the listeners hear in to Leigh’s quiet, yet confident revelation: “And the lights turn on and I’m on the stage / For the very first time I’m not afraid / Of what you think or what you’ll say / Are you glad you came?” The EP ends on the same notes that capture who Leigh is as an artist: vulnerable, honest, and free.
Whether you are manifesting your ideal romantic connection, grieving any relationship, attempting to untangle the mess of dating, or simply just trying to find yourself, Leigh has encompassed these wide-ranging emotions into a single EP. With for your entertainment, Leigh reminds listeners that despite the troubling, anxiety-inducing emotions that come with the messiness of your twenties, there is still a freeing sense of hope that emerges from the mess.
Keep up with Savanna Leigh:
