Australian artist aleksiah unpacks perfectionism, pressure, and pop catharsis in “The Hit,” a searing, aptly-titled standout off her latest EP ‘Cry About It’ that turns unfiltered emotion and the overwhelming drive to create something great into something undeniable – and irresistibly catchy.

Stream: “The Hit” – aleksiah

Songwriting, or anything that you’re really passionate about, can kind of be like a toxic relationship – you always want to do well, to please someone, constantly chasing after that rush of validation. It can be like a drug.

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Validation is a hell of a drug – and aleksiah chases that high with fire and finesse on “The Hit.”

A bold, glistening standout off her new EP Cry About It (released July 11^th via Chugg Music and Stellar Trigger), this song hits like a jolt to the system: All pulsing beats, sparkling synths, and emotionally raw vocals that ache and soar in equal measure. Think MUNA meets Lily Allen, with a touch of 2010s “recession pop” – all wrapped around a voice that pulls you in and doesn’t let go.

I got the help I need
I know the grass is green
I don’t think I’ll ever be,
be enough for you

Hung up on jealousy
Stuck on a melody
Finding the missing piece
inside my bedroom

I want the same as you
At least I think I do
I know that I’m bound to lose
this match between us
A lock and a couple keys
Harness and heavy leash
Makin’ it hard to leave

“Oh, it’s the hit that cuts me to my core / When the writing’s on the wall / Maybe this’ll be my downfall…” the Adelaide, Australia-based singer/songwriter belts, her voice simmering with self-awareness and desperation. Written alone in a hotel room, “The Hit” is about the pressure to create something great – to be great – and the rush of validation that comes with it.

Now it, it’s up to me
It’s a thousand degrees
And every second, every minute,
it gets harder to breathe
When I don’t feel the rush
When the words are not enough
When I’m lookin’ at the page
and I’m pretendin’ that it’s love

“I had just listened to one of my favorite songs, ‘Love Song’ by Sara Bareilles, and I loved how it could be seen from two points of view, feeling pressured to make a hit song and a relationship, so I wanted to try my hand at the same thing,” aleksiah tells Atwood Magazine.

“The song is about feeling unworthy, and having that external (but mostly internal) pressure on you to do well. But then you could spin the story and read it like a song about a toxic relationship, and that ‘the hit’ is the validation you get from being with someone, and how it’s almost like a drug.”

We feel that duality – of longing and collapse, of pouring your full self into something that might just break you – come to life in the song’s charged and churning chorus, where aleksiah rises to a frenzied fever pitch. Her voice resonates with heart, passion, and urgency as synths pulse in time with her, and suddenly we’re in the thick of it – caught in the high-stakes push-pull of self-worth and self-destruction. Her words, underscored by the dazzling emotion packed into her voice, turns the rush of validation into both a lifeline and a liability. The hit, in every sense, is the drug and the damage – the reason she keeps reaching, and the reason it hurts so much:

Oh, it’s the hit that cuts me to my core
When the writing’s on the wall
Maybe this’ll be my downfall
Baby, it’s the hit that gets me through the night
Leaves me thinkin’ that I’m fine
In the mornin’ I’ll be all yours

Baby, it’s ooh, way you look at me
Tell me it’s destiny, “we could make history”
Oh baby, it’s the hit that cuts me to the core
Leaves me dyin’ on the floor
Maybe this’ll be my downfall, downfall

I was feeling pretty down, and had a lot of pressure not only from others, but mainly from myself to write the perfect song.

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That duality is the heart of “The Hit” – a dance between craving and collapse, between ambition and unraveling. “For me it’s about putting so much pressure on myself to do well. I’ve always been a person that puts a lot of pride and a lot of belief in the things I do, which I swear is going to kill me in the end,” aleksiah says wryly. “Don’t feel the rush / And the words are not enough / Like I’m lookin’ at a river and pretendin’ it’s a flood.” She’s chasing perfection, even when it hurts – capturing in song the catharsis that comes from finally admitting how much it takes out of you.

“It may not sound like a completely personal song, but the situation the song speaks about is incredibly close to my chest.”

Lackin’ the empathy
Honest and hellish we
Naturally disagree and can’t escape it
Knowin’ you’re bad for me
Fight it like gravity
You make it so hard to leave

Now it, it’s up to me
It’s so hard to believe
There’s nothin’ left to make a mess of
Guess I’m runnin’ out of steam, ’cause I
Don’t feel the rush
And the words are not enough
Like I’m lookin’ at a river
and pretendin’ it’s a flood

“The Hit” marks a shift on Cry About It, falling on the EP’s B-side and signaling a sonic and emotional evolution. “The last two songs I wrote for the EP were ‘Clothes Off’ and ‘The Hit,’ which are a lot more poppy and at this point in time, I’m really resonating with that sound,” she explains. “I think ‘The Hit’ really fits in with the second half of the EP.” Inspired by writers like Sara Bareilles and her own childhood love of “depressing songs with fun pop beats,” aleksiah makes music that feels both deeply personal and universally felt – for “people that take themselves a little too seriously, but wish they didn’t (me).”

“I hope listeners know they’re not alone if they’re a perfectionist,” she shares. “They’re not crazy for trying their hardest… and if people in their life tell them to ‘chill out,’ don’t listen to them.”

“For me, I think it was a big release to get a weight of pressure and perfectionism off of my chest.”

It might be about the weight of expectation, but “The Hit” is a release – explosive, exhilarating, and unforgettable. aleksiah doesn’t buckle under pressure; rather, she breaks the cycle and turns her pain into pop gold.

As beautifully bold as it is brutally honest, “The Hit” captures aleksiah at her most raw, self-aware, and sonically daring. It’s a moment of clarity disguised as a dramatic, dynamic dancefloor anthem – and a striking example of the depth and nuance she brings to her craft. Atwood Magazine spoke with aleksiah about writing through pressure, the meaning behind her standout song, and the personal journey that shaped Cry About It. Read our interview below, and stream aleksiah’s stunning new EP wherever you get music!

Oh, it’s the hit that cuts me to my core
When the writing’s on the wall
Maybe this’ll be my downfall
Baby, it’s the hit that gets me through the night
Leaves me thinkin’ that I’m fine
In the mornin’ I’ll be all yours
Baby, it’s ooh, way you look at me
Tell me it’s destiny, “we could make history”
Oh baby, it’s the hit that cuts me to the core
Leaves me dyin’ on the floor
Maybe this’ll be my downfall, downfall

Don’t you complainin’
to anybody else, body else, no
Oh honey, you brought
this on yourself, on yourself, oh

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:: stream/purchase Cry About It here ::

:: connect with aleksiah here ::

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Stream: ‘Cry About It’ EP – aleksiah

A CONVERSATION WITH ALEKSIAH

aleksiah: I wrote the song alone in a hotel room at night, I had just listened to one of my fave songs, “Love Song” by Sara Bareilles and I loved how the song could be seen from two points of view, feeling pressured to make a hit song and a relationship, so I wanted to try my hand at the same thing. The song is about feeling unworthy, and having that external/but mostly internal pressure on you to do well, to make people happy. But then you could spin the story and read it like a song about a toxic relationship, and that “the hit” is the validation you get from being with someone, and how its almost like a drug.

aleksiah: I guess for me it’s about putting so much pressure on myself to do well, I’ve always been a person that puts a lot of pride and a lot of belief in the things I do, which I swear is going to kill me in the end lol. It may not sound like a completely personal song, but the situation the song speaks about is incredibly close to my chest.

aleksiah: I feel like the EP is split into two little ‘mini EPs’ in a way, and the divide is very apparent on the vinyl, with Side A and Side B. Side A which has “Batsh*t,” “Keep My Cool” and “Cold,” is very fun, flamboyant, theatrical and a bit crazy. I wanted it to be solely about desire and anger, because when I was writing those tracks, I was in a bit of an angry part of my life. The last two songs I wrote for the EP were Side B, “Clothes Off” and “The Hit,” which are a lot more poppy and at this point in time, I’m really resonating with that sound. So I think “The Hit” really fits in with the second half of the EP.

aleksiah: That they’re not alone if they’re a perfectionist, they’re not crazy for trying their hardest, and if people in their life tell them to “chill out,” don’t listen to them. For me, I think it was a big release to get a weight of pressure and perfectionism off of my chest.

aleksiah: I love to write music that takes a broad concept and gives it a niche perspective, I think it’s always really fun to write like that. A lot of my music tends to have a rather serious or sad topic, but with a really contrasted sound in the production, it’s music for people that take themselves a little too seriously, but wish they didn’t (AKA me).

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:: stream/purchase Cry About It here ::

:: connect with aleksiah here ::

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Stream: “The Hit” – aleksiah

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Cry About It

an EP by aleksiah