As she promised upon the release of her comeback single, “Washed Away,” Kelela is back with a banger. On her latest single, “Happy Ending,” Kelela dances the night away over a lush, fast-paced beat.
“We’re too far away / I’m reading all the writings on the wall / And if you don’t run away / Could be a happy ending after all /It’s deeper than fantasy,” she sings, delivering her soft, wispy vocals, slipping the listeners into a sensual club dream.
In the song’s video, Kelela is dressed in futuristic, neon, attire, as clips from the New York City underground ballroom scene play throughout the video.
Kelela is set to release her sophomore album soon, five years after the release of her debut album, Take Me Apart. In a recent interview with Dazed, Kelela said that she wants for her visuals and music, which often comprise Afrofuturistic aesthetics, to empower her Black audience.
“We are building our relationship with visual and narrative signifiers through these images,” Kelela said. “For me, the end result is creating images that make Black people feel like we are actually this big! That we are worthy, and this is how large and expansive it can get. This feeling of expansiveness is what I’m trying to give my people, and that’s what is at the center of all of this for me. I’ve never really named that framework in that way. But I think it’s an ethic I’ve been really striving for this whole time.”
Check out the video for ‘Happy Ending’ above.