Culture / Music

Isabella Manfredi is no one hit wonder

one hit wonder isabella manfredi

Isabella Manfredi is no one hit wonder. But her latest single describes a romantic relationship that undoubtedly is.

In anticipation of her debut solo album spiralling towards us next year, Manfredi has dropped One Hit Wonder, a silvery and bittersweet track farewelling a love, burnt out and faded. But unlike many break up songs, One Hit Wonder doesn't cast love lost as a failure. Instead it's warm and upbeat – a toast to what was. Her vocals oscillate between light and sticky, tugging at your heartstrings in the more reflective moments, beckoning you onto the dance floor in others.

Written and produced over the course of a few days with her two co-collaborators, Lucy Taylor and Chris Collins, on the surface One Hit Wonder speaks only to romantic heartbreak. However, on closer inspection there is a likeness between the sentiment of the single and Manfredi's own experience exiting The Preatures for good.

“When I walked into the session for One Hit Wonder in March 2020, two weeks before the pandemic really hit, The Preatures had already been in limbo for eighteen months and I had been off the stage and in stalemate," Manfredi said in a press release.

"The day before the session I had been in the studio with G Flip, Jess B and Thandi Pheonix for Like a Version, and I came home from rehearsals energised and inspired. I sat down at my piano and wrote the prechorus and chorus, and over the next few days I finished One Hit Wonder with Chris Collins and Lucy Taylor. I remember it feeling tongue in cheek at the time, like maybe it could be a Preatures song. But I was really saying I was done with the band before I was ready to admit it to myself," she continued.

Just like a relationship that has no future, Manfredi describes the difficulties she faced when calling it quits with a project she had injected so much time and energy into. "I think sometimes it can be hard to swallow that the strongest thing you can do is cut your losses and walk away. It's also right to acknowledge when something truly was wondrous and leave it at that."

But as the saying goes, when one door closes another opens. And while One Hit Wonder pays tribute to the past, its invigorating percussion and blissful harmonies signal that Isabella Manfredi is galloping forward, ready to embrace what lies ahead.

One Hit Wonder drops today and you can listen to the track on Spotify and Apple Music. Otherwise, you can tune into the first live performance of the single on ABC's The Sound this Sunday, November 14 at 5.30pm AEDT.

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