”I’ll Be Okay” by Nya

2023 has been an incredible year for female vocalists in pop music, but out of the hundreds that I’ve listened to since this past March, there haven’t been very many that affected me as much as young Nya has. Despite her young age and casual attitude towards the industry, Nya is already sounding like a vet to a lot of her rivals, and this spring she’s dropping the new single ”I’ll Be Okay,” a composition that gives unfamiliar ears a pretty good idea of who and what she’s all about as an artist. This is a statement track if I’ve ever heard one, and certainly a fine addition to her growing discography of gems. 

There’s no getting around the heavy jazz pulse in this song, and taking into account the intricate arrangement of the instruments, trying to break down “I’ll Be Okay” without looking at it through a jazz-colored lens is next to impossible. Her vocal is always at the forefront of the mix, but it’s interwoven with the bass and percussive textures to maximize the chill factor as we inch closer and closer to the climactic chorus. Tension is a key ingredient in her recipe for success, and this single calls for a double portion of what most of her material normally would. 

Nya duels for our attention with her backing band during the electrifying refrain, but she consistently shows us that there’s nothing strong enough to water down the vocals that she’s sewing into the instrumental melodies here. One thing that I love about this young woman is her sensible approach to harmonies; rather than trying to hoard all of the attention for herself in “I’ll Be Okay,” she’s more than willing to share the spotlight with the other musicians in this track. That’s a trademark found in all of the most iconic singers in the history of pop music, and it’s something I want to see her continue to espouse in future endeavors. 

Production-wise, this single is ultra-slick. The drums have a glisten that I would usually associate more with the string section, and even the aforementioned ominous bassline has a certain sparkle that complements the black-and-white delivery that Nya employs with the verses. The contrast between the different components here isn’t as severe as to describe “I’ll Be Okay” as willfully outside the mainstream – contrarily, for the aesthetical edginess that this song does contain, it’s probably the most accessible track that Nya has made in the last two years. 

If you haven’t already heard Nya’s music, then this is the song that I would tell you to start with. All of her most impressive attributes are highlighted inside of its four fantastic minutes of audio, and while I’m sure that this won’t be the last time that she turns out a hit single, this is easily the cream of the crop among everything that she’s got in her body of work at the moment. Pop is going through a lot of growing pains as the current gen of aesthetics nears its expiration date, but artists like this one are keeping it interesting amidst the scores of progressive changes that the genre is experiencing at the moment. 

Mindy McCall