Donna Missal refuses to let her passion be extinguished. After a difficult year following being released from her label, the LA-based artist rose from the smoking embers more determined than ever. The heartbreaking experience led to introspection and the desire to connect more meaningfully. She dug deep and found her creative spark, hitting the studio to transform her pain into power. Emerging with music that felt like the most authentic she’s ever created, Donna begins her new journey with the release of her empowering new single, titled, “Flicker,” released independently via ADA Worldwide.
Donna Missal – “Flicker” music video
“I wrote ‘Flicker’ with my friends after I got dropped from my record deal. So, it’s got this fierce energy about it. It’s my way of coming out of that experience swinging, fighting for myself.” – Donna Missal explained
‘Flicker’ was produced by Ceci Gomez and Veronika Jane Wyman of DAGR (Rebecca Black, Portugal. The Man, King Princess) and Billboard (Dua Lipa, Ariana Grande, Robyn), and co-written with DAGR and Em Walcott (Alicia Keys, Tayla Parx, Tove Styrke). The song is a sparkling dance-pop track with an alternative edge. The pulsating, futuristic electronic production drives the song and provides a swirling sonic landscape for Donna Missal’s complex vocals and empowering lyrics to shine through. It’s almost as if you can feel her healing.
‘Flicker’ represents Missal’s journey through the last year. She enlisted choreographer Sadie Wilking to work with her on a video centering Missal performing a combat dance sequence in a grimy warehouse. Missal didn’t want it to be sexy. She wanted it to look like she was fighting for her life, and she trained for months to manifest the sequence’s display of physical power. Sweaty and muscled, Missal’s visceral movements in “Flicker” contrast with the ethereal sounds of the song. It embodies and completes her transformation.
Donna Missal
“I made the music video to put myself through something physically painful and transforming, to push my own limits in my art to reflect where I was at in my life. I trained for a couple of months before we shot and it was something so challenging for me to sink into, to keep me off social media and connecting with my body in this new way, reaching my own breaking points and getting past them, failing hard and still getting up the next day and trying again until I had it down. The experience itself became this representation of endurance and fortitude that I made this whole new album about. So I’m just really excited to be sharing it, especially after being as private as I’ve been during the process.” – Donna Missal explained
Donna channeled that energy inward, resulting in a metamorphosis of mind, body, and soul. She set out to create a dance video that was a visual representation of her journey, challenging herself both mentally and physically. With no prior dance experience, she spent weeks working with a choreographer and strength training to get her body into shape and ready to perform. Along the way, Donna documented the process and has been candidly sharing the deeply personal experience with her fans via Instagram.
Donna Missal
In the summer of 2022, Donna Missal was disoriented to find herself living out of her car and on friends’ couches in Los Angeles, questioning whether she could continue – financially and emotionally – to make music. In the past five years, she had collected tens of millions of streams across platforms, cultivated a passionate fan base for her heartfelt songwriting, played festivals from Bonnaroo to Bottle Rock, and toured with high-profile artists including Lewis Capaldi, CHVRCHES, and King Princess. But still, Missal was struggling. Working through the pain, she found refuge in the creative process, digging deep into her beliefs about safety and satisfaction. Last year, Missal shared on Twitter that she’d been let go at the end of her four-year recording contract.
“It’s emotionally exhausting to posture like everything’s cool,” she wrote, of the “optics Olympics” that keep artists from sharing their challenges openly. Missal’s record deal had felt meaningful – it included resources, structure, and a set of people contractually obligated to believe in her. With this barometer of self-worth removed, she was unmoored and devastated. Fighting to take care of her basic needs while still working in the studio with other artists, Missal gained a new awareness of the tenuous nature of success in the music industry.
Donna Missal
Missal had started out as a songwriter and backing artist, collaborating with artists like Tinashe, Sharon Van Etten, Macklemore, and Lee Fields, and landing a publishing contract in her early 20s. Later, Missal became a sought-out vocalist, tapped to contribute a cover of Cigarettes After Sex’s “Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby” for the Oscar-winning film, Promising Young Woman. In the confines of the early pandemic, Missal dove into bedroom pop recordings, using her powerful voice in a quieter way to avoid disturbing her neighbors. She showcased this spare and sexy homespun electronica on 2022’s in the mirror, in the night EP, which was executive produced by Sega Bodega (FKA Twigs, Caroline Polachek).
Donna Missal – “Flicker” single
We recommend adding Donna Missal’s “Flicker” single to your favorite alternative playlist. Also, let us know how you feel in the comment section below. Mel Blanc’s famous catchphrase, That’s All Folks! Thanks for reading another great article on Bong Mines Entertainment – the hot spot for new music and entertainment news. Always remember that (P) Positive, (E) Energy, (A) Always, (C) Creates, (E) Elevation (P.E.A.C.E). Contact us on social media via Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, or Facebook, and let us know what’s going on. Disclaimer: This post contains Apple Music affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking a link on this page, we will collect a share of the sales. The small compensation will be used towards keeping this website up and running.