LA-based artist-to-watch Lee Lewis is an unapologetic open book on his second single “Delusion,” a bold, brooding eruption of smoldering soul, feverish emotion, and raw romance.
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Stream: “Delusion” – Lee Lewis
It’s my most uptempo song, and I’d love to hear it in a gay club someday. It’s dark, queer, and a little sassy lyrically.
Los Angeles singer/songwriter Lee Lewis asks one of life’s timeless questions in his sophomore single: “Is this my delusion, or is it love?”
Intimacy has a way of muddying the waters when we’re trying to get close to someone new – everyone has their own unique approach, expectations, and understandings – and while clear communication is always the best policy, it’s often easier said than done. Ask that special someone what you two are doing too soon, and you risk scaring them away. Wait too long, however, and they might move on – and a good thing is lost before it could take flight.
Alternatively, we’re all just overthinking and overanalyzing things, when we could just be upfront and honest with each other from the start. Lee Lewis is done playing mind games, he’s done second-guessing himself and others, and he’s done wasting time. The artist is an unapologetic open book on “Delusion,” a bold, brooding eruption of smoldering soul, feverish emotion, and raw romance.
Don’t wanna waste no time with an eye closed
Make you something you’ve never shown
I’ve been blind since the first time
Tied our hands till they intertwined
Breaking all the rules that I’ve been told
Crossing lines, but I should’ve known
This would be like the last one
Is this my delusion?
He’s breaking all the rules, and he’s doing it with a smooth, sultry R&B flare. Released January 17 via Bright Antenna Records, “Delusion” is a dramatic deluge of visceral passion, angst, and unrest soaked in heavy beats and smoky, seductive atmospherics.
It’s a stunning return for LA native Lee Lewis, whose debut single “Willing & Able,” released in September, earned him early nods from tastemakers like KCRW and Brooklyn Vegan, together with yours truly:
“With his heart on his sleeve and his soul spilling out, Lee Lewis weaves a tale of love and longing in ‘Willing & Able,’ his irresistible and achingly intimate debut single,” we wrote, naming him one of Atwood Magazine’s 2024 Artists to Watch. “It’s his beautiful dark twisted melancholy: One of two passing ships in the night, always out of sync. It’s never quite the right time… but he’ll wait.”
A classically trained operatic vocalist, Lewis cites inspirations from both classics – folks like Donny Hathaway and Gerard Souzay – and contemporaries like Adele and Sampha. His own own music sounds more in line with the songs off The Weeknd’s Beauty Behind the Madness than perhaps anything else: Dark and brooding, intimate yet expansive, “Delusion” aches with both a palpable pain and an unrelenting passion as Lewis unleashes the fire within.
He hits a cathartic emotional climax in the song’s chorus as he confronts age-old relationship do’s and don’ts, opting to do what’s right for him:
Or is it love? Is it love?
God damn I think I seeing now, seeing now
Had enough? Had enough?
God damn my fevers coming down,
coming down, coming down
Do you feel another way?
Do you really wanna to stay?
Do you want another round?
Are you ever gonna spell it out?
Do you feel another way?
Do you really wanna to play?
Do you wanna stick around?
Are you ever gonna spell it out?
Think of this as a far more intoxicating version of “the talk.”
“‘Delusion’ is truly a song for the gays and the girls,” Lewis tells Atwood Magazine. “I wanted to write something that gay men would likely, universally understand. Time after time, myself and other friends of mine have found ourselves in “situations,” in a grey area that’s hidden in plain sight, lodged somewhere in between a relationship and your regular consistent hook up. The song is a love letter to those that are too emotionally available and those that are just the opposite. Where one man involved is seeking one thing, and the other likely seeking something else. It’s called ‘Delusion’ to reflect delusional behavior between both parties, but more so the party that develops actual feelings in the situationship.”
“I wrote and recorded the song with my producer Sam Westhoff in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and it was written so quickly. We listened to ‘Crazy’ by Seal and a few other songs, and landed on an amazing bass line, and got to work. Before I knew it, I was like, ‘Woah, I’ve got myself a dark and moody pop song.’”
Lewis continues to challenge silly social norms in a propulsive and bustling second verse: “Don’t wanna wake up right at the finish line,” he yearns, confessing that he’s “not built for the mind games” or the “child play.” Whether they stay together or fall apart in the end, at least he was true to himself and true to his feelings – but what would we rather have, our integrity intact or a warm body for company?
For some, the answer to this question is straightforward, obvious, and instantaneous. For others, things are not so black and white – and merely asking the question inevitably compounds the delusion.
Don’t wanna wake up right at the finish line
Take us back to a better time
I’m not built for the mind games
I’m not here for the child play
Silly me, to think it’d be different
Stay or go is the question
Baby our downfall is imminent
Is this my delusion?
It’s called ‘Delusion’ to reflect delusional behavior between both parties, but more so the party that develops actual feelings in the situationship.
For Lewis, “Delusion” is in itself a massive personal achievement, combining intimate aspects of his own lived experience into a catchy, heated, and all-consuming sonic seduction.
“It’s my most uptempo song, and I’d love to hear it in a gay club someday,” he smiles. “It’s dark, queer, and a little sassy lyrically. It’s a fun tackle on a sour life reoccurrence that I deal with, and many others do as well. With all that said though, don’t be realist, just be delusional; when it’s good, it’s just more fun!”
Or is it love? Is it Love?
God damn I think I see it now, see it now
Had enough? Had enough?
God damn my fevers coming down,
coming down, coming down
Sensual and soul-stirring, Lee Lewis’ second song effortlessly reaffirms everything we’ve already said about him as a fresh voice and a deserving artist-to-watch:
Channeling the deepest and rawest parts of his humanity into his art, Lewis ensures we feel what he feels as he pours every piece of himself out through song. No stone feels unturned, nor shadow unexplored; he’s diving deep, and returning the surface with nuggets of pure gold.
Get lost in the deep thrills of “Delusion” below, and stay tuned for more from the up-and-coming singer/songwriter as he no doubt continues to introduce himself over the coming months!
Do you feel another way?
Do you really wanna to stay?
Do you want another round?
Are you ever gonna spell it out?
Do you feel another way?
Do you really wanna to play?
Do you wanna stick around?
Are you ever gonna spell it out?
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:: stream/purchase “Delusion`” here ::
:: connect with Lee Lewis here ::
Stream: “Delusion” – Lee Lewis
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