Rising singer/songwriter Lola Blue opens up about the innocence, excitement, and comfort behind “Heartbeat,” a dreamy indie pop seduction that captures the sweet, all-consuming pull of a crush before the world gets complicated.
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Stream: “Heartbeat” – Lola Blue
I want my music to be something people go to, to find comfort in their feelings.
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A crush can turn the whole world electric – every glance charged, every touch magnified, every ordinary moment suddenly full of motion, meaning, and possibility.
On “Heartbeat,” Lola Blue bottles that infectious intensity with irresistible charm, turning young love, innocence, and freedom into a dreamy indie pop rush that feels as buoyant as it is intimate. It’s a song about the thrill of feeling everything all at once, and the quiet, magnetic pull of wanting to stay inside that feeling just a little longer.
I know you hear my heartbeat
I know it could go hard
I see you in the backseat
I know we could go far
Released in late February as her debut single with slowplay, “Heartbeat” introduces Lola Blue as a voice rooted in sweetness, playfulness, and emotional immediacy. The LA-based singer/songwriter (née Lola Blue Koepke) crafts a vivid, coming-of-age world shaped by girlhood, creative curiosity, and a deep connection to memory and imagination – a space where feelings are allowed to bloom freely, before the weight of the world sets in.
“I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her,” Blue says with a wink – a line that captures the disarming sincerity and playful self-awareness at the heart of her music.
They’re trying to take me away from you
They’re trying to kick us out
They think I’m way too good for you
They’re trying to shut it down
That ethos runs through every layer of the song. Produced by Day Wave (Jackson Phillips), “Heartbeat” shimmers with bright, intoxicating melodies and soft, spoken flourishes, its gentle groove carrying a steady, peppy pulse that feels impossible to resist. There’s an ease to it – a lightness that lets the song glide – while still grounding its emotional core in real, recognizable moments and emotions.
“I really try to keep things as sweet and playful as possible in my life,” Blue shares. “With every bone in my body, I try to hold on to the feelings I had when I was a teenager just in terms of my mind and what I felt was possible.”
This sense of possibility defines “Heartbeat.” At its core, the song is about having a crush – simple, immediate, and all-consuming in the way only early feelings can be. “Heartbeat is about the innocence and excitement that comes with being young. Experiencing sweet feelings like a crush with no real consequences, just the joy of the moment,” she explains, embracing the fleeting, carefree nature of those experiences without overcomplicating them.
Give me a reason to cut my hair
Anything you’d like
Just give me a reason to be somewhere
I’ll go wherever you’d like
I can’t help myself, I’m all about you
Just like that
I can’t help myself, I’m all about you
Just like that
You can hear that intimacy right from the opening line – “I know you hear my heartbeat / I know it could go hard” – a tender, close-up moment that captures the physical closeness of two bodies physically and emotionally in sync with each other, listening, feeling, reading everything without a word. It’s a small detail, but it carries the full weight of the song’s emotional world: Connection without explanation, vulnerability without fear.
“This line is about the intimacy of laying your head on someone’s chest, hearing a heartbeat and being able to read someone’s emotion from such a simple moment,” Blue explains – grounding her song’s dreamy atmosphere in something deeply human, relatable, and real.
From there, Lola Blue leans fully into that feeling. Her freeing, boldly sung declaration, “I can’t help myself, I’m all about you / just like that” becomes both a confession and a release – a line that lands with effortless sincerity, as if there’s no point in resisting it. There’s no second-guessing, no hesitation – just the simple, undeniable truth of being pulled toward someone, and choosing to follow that instinct.
Even as “Heartbeat” floats on its breezy, feel-good surface, there’s a deeper thread running underneath: A commitment to holding onto wonder. Lola Blue doesn’t treat these feelings as fleeting or trivial; she elevates them, framing them as essential, formative, and worth preserving. In doing so, she creates a song that feels both immediate and lasting – a snapshot of youth that continues to resonate long after the moment has passed.
I know you feel my heartbeat
You never say it out loud
We’re laying on the concrete
Your lips on the ground
They’re trying to take us away from here
They’re trying to kick us out
They want to make us disappear
They’re trying to shut it down
“I hope listeners see themselves in this song because it’s such a relatable experience – everyone has a crush,” the artist shares. “I want my music to be something people go to, to find comfort in their feelings. I’ve made art for as long as I can remember, exploring different visual mediums in art school, most of which I never shared with the outside world. Everything I’ve made was always for myself. It’s kind of surreal sharing my music. Releasing always feels so special.”
“Heartbeat” features on Blue’s recently released debut EP Pinky Promise (May 15th via slowplay), a six-track collection of dreamy, heartsick indie pop songs that expand and deepen Blue’s tender sonic world, capturing life’s highs and lows through achingly intimate songwriting and catchy, cathartic sound. “This project is extra special to me,” Blue says, highlighting the “little stories” scattered throughout the record. “It’s my first time making something that’s truly from my heart. I’m the luckiest girl in the world to be able release music and have such amazing and caring people around me.”
Produced by Day Wave, Pinky Promise traces girlhood, self-discovery, romance, longing, and loss with a light touch and a wide-open heart. “I Don’t Know How to Leave” opens the EP by looking back on a toxic relationship through a deceptively bright alt-pop lens, with Blue reflecting, “This song is about how I stayed in a toxic relationship longer than I should’ve. I wrote this a year or two later when it finally made sense. Hindsight really does clarify a lot, especially after meeting someone who’s shown me what being treated well actually feels like.”
The gently propulsive “Daisy” blooms into devotion and insecurity, all circling motion and soft hope; the synth-soaked fever dream “Seventeen” reaches backward toward the ache of youth, chasing the impossible sweetness of a time that can’t be recovered; “Lucy” feels like a hazy portrait of attachment and uncertainty, its sweetness shadowed by the fear of letting someone down; and closer “Do You Wanna Be Adored?” channels longing into a bright, chant-like question, ending the project with a simple, universal desire: To be wanted, seen, and loved.
“This body of work is a reflection on my early adult years, the transitional period of entering life outside of the bubble I once lived in,” Blue smiles. “It explores love, loss, girlhood and the feelings that come with it. It feels like a really cohesive body of work, not only sonically but the story I’m telling… a moment in time.”
And still, “Heartbeat” remains true to its name – the beating heart of Pinky Promise.
It’s a magical introduction to a magnificent artist, a song that captures so much of why we’re falling headfirst for Lola Blue: The softness, the sparkle, the vulnerability, the instinctive pop pull, and the rare ability to make a fleeting feeling sound like forever.
In the end, “Heartbeat” isn’t trying to be anything more than what it is – and that’s exactly what makes it so undeniably special. It moves with a light step and an open heart, inviting listeners to remember what it felt like to care this freely, this fully, without overthinking it. In Lola Blue’s hands, that feeling becomes its own sacred permanence – a reminder that even the simplest emotions can leave the deepest imprint.
I can’t help myself – I’m all about Lola Blue, just like that.
Lola Blue recently sat down with Atwood Magazine to discuss “Heartbeat,” working with Day Wave, and the coming-of-age world behind her debut EP. Read our full conversation below – and let the heartbeat say the rest.
Give me a reason to cut my hair
Anything you’d like
Just give me a reason to be somewhere
I’ll go wherever you’d like
I can’t help myself, I’m all about you
Just like thatI can’t help myself, I’m all about you
Just like that
I can’t help myself, I’m all about you
Just like that
I can’t help myself, I’m all about you
Just like that
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:: stream/purchase Heartbeat here ::
:: connect with Lola Blue here ::
:: stream/purchase Pinky Promise here ::
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Stream: ‘Pinky Promise’ – Lola Blue
A CONVERSATION WITH LOLA BLUE
Atwood Magazine: Lola, for those who are just discovering you today through this writeup, what do you want them to know about you and your music?
Lola Blue: I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.
Who are some of your musical north stars, and what are you most excited about the music you're making today?
Lola Blue: I’m inspired. It feels good to have a clear vision of where this is going. I’m excited to have made a project that feels uniquely me.
“Heartbeat” is your first release in two years, since “Carlisle.” What's the story behind this song?
Lola Blue: I wrote it about having a crush.
I know you hear my heartbeat, I know it could go hard,” you sing at the song’s start – such a compelling, intimate way to frame a conversation. Can you share a bit about these lines?
Lola Blue: This line is about the intimacy of laying your head on someone’s chest, hearing a heartbeat and being able to read someone’s emotion from such a simple moment.
You ultimately come to an emotional peak in the chorus as we hear you sing, “I can’t help myself, I’m all about you, just like that.” What’s this song about, for you?
Lola Blue: “Heartbeat” is about the innocence and excitement that comes with being young. Experiencing sweet feelings like a crush with no real consequences, just the joy of the moment.
I’ve also been a longtime fan of your producer, Day Wave. What was your experience working with Jackson as a producer?
Lola Blue: Day Wave is literally the best. He’s so incredibly inspiring and it’s so amazing working with someone with aligned musical taste and interest. We made this entire project together and are already working on the next one.
Your debut EP comes out this May. Can you share a bit more about this body of work, and what it means to you?
Lola Blue: This body of work is a reflection on my early adult years, the transitional period of entering life outside of the bubble I once lived in. It explores love, loss, girlhood and the feelings that come with it. It feels like a really cohesive body of work, not only sonically but the story I’m telling… a moment in time.
What do you hope listeners take away from “Heartbeat,” and what have you taken away from creating it and now putting it out?
Lola Blue: I hope listeners see themselves in this song because it’s such a relatable experience – everyone has a crush. I want my music to be something people go to, to find comfort in their feelings. I’ve made art for as long as I can remember, exploring different visual mediums in art school. Most of which I never shared with the outside world. Everything I’ve made was always for myself. It’s kind of surreal sharing my music. Releasing always feels so special. This is actually one of the first interviews I’ve ever done. I’m so excited that I get to share the music with people.
In the spirit of paying it forward, who are you listening to these days that you would recommend to our readers?
Lola Blue: I’m listening to a lot of what was playing in my house growing up… Arcade Fire, Phoenix, M83, The xx, Bowie… Lots of Ivy and Class Actress right now too. Always love a good pop song, I’m a big Olivia Rodrigo fan. I think what Violet Grohl is doing is super cool right now too.
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:: stream/purchase Heartbeat here ::
:: connect with Lola Blue here ::
:: stream/purchase Pinky Promise here ::
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Stream: “Heartbeat” – Lola Blue
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© Tanner Deutsch
© Tanner Deutsch
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