Paula Jivén is a rising 18-year-old singer-songwriter from Gothenburg, Sweden. Not too long ago, she released an appealing music video for her “Say That” single. The hypnotic, chill-pop offering serves as a cathartic songwriting experience for Jivén.
Paula Jivén – “Say That” music video
“When tomorrow comes, I’ll be writing other stories. It’s the way things go, but you know that I’ll be sorry. It doesn’t hurt that bad but I wish there was a way out, it’s not that life is hard but sometimes I wanna drop out. I’m spending all my nights alone, living my life on the phone. Am I happy? No. But I’m not supposed to say that.” – lyrics
‘Say That’ tells an intriguing tale about a lonely young woman who realizes she needs to accept her world and reality. Apparently, sometimes, she forgets how to breathe and finds difficulty thinking substantial thoughts. Later, she tells herself, “Maybe all that I can do is just wait and see what becomes of me.”
Paula Jivén makes spellbindingly original pop music, each song sparked from her radiant imagination. She’s already cultivated a truly singular voice as an artist, one that defies all expectations in favor of following her most playful and daring instincts.
“I say I’m here to stay but my bags are always packed.”
“‘Say That’ is a song that I wrote at a special time of my life. I had just turned 16, I was in LA on a songwriting trip working with people that I admire and doing meetings in crazy record-label buildings. I was getting to do things I had been dreaming about for so long! But something was still not sitting right with me. I think this was the first time I really experienced the downsides of materialism, and it was overwhelming me in the weirdest way. I felt like although I had so much, I was still missing something, the way all humans do, I guess.
We never seem to get enough. And when you think you have it all, it’s still not enough, you can’t really talk about it! And that’s where the title comes in. It was something taking up a lot of my mind space, but I couldn’t really find a way to talk about it without feeling like I was coming off as ungrateful. Writing about it felt like a healthy way to unpack all of these thoughts in a healthy environment. It helped me realize that it’s a privilege to have these problems, but it’s still ok to feel like sh*t.” – Paula Jivén explained
“I’m spending all my nights alone, living my life on the phone.”
Newly signed to Universal Music Sweden, Jivén is set to deliver a debut EP, entitled, “The Duality In Me,” this summer. The anticipated project reveals her supreme gifts as a storyteller and the tremendous power of her captivating voice.
“In the process of writing this EP, I realized that there’s such a duality within me—there are so many sides to who I am, and there’s both good and bad within that. Writing all these songs really helped me to understand myself better, and I hope that now people can make their own connections and understand themselves better too.” – Paula Jivén explained
All throughout her debut, Paula Jivén illuminates the potent balance of emotional realism and dreamy sensitivity within her songwriting—a dynamic intensified by each track’s graceful interlacing of live instrumentation and electronic experimentation. Made with genre-bending producers like Sir Sly’s Jason Suwito (Imagine Dragons, MisterWives, Dreamers, DeathbyRomy), “The Duality In Me” moves exponentially forward with a mission she describes as “disrupting the comfortable and comforting the disrupted.”
Paula Jivén
“All of these songs are portraits of moments in my life when I’ve felt incredibly strong emotions. I love writing songs where I get to vent about something that makes me angry, but I also love writing songs where you sort of take someone into your lap and pat them on the head and let them know that everything’s going to be okay. Either way, I want to convey those strong emotions in a way that brings people closer to a sense of acceptance.” – Paula Jivén explained
Paula Jivén grew up in Gothenburg, where she first discovered her fascination with music as a child. She took up the violin at the age of three and later learned to play piano, in addition to singing in the church choir. When she was nine years old, her parents began taking her and her younger sister to the opera house for classical music performances nearly every week. Jivén credits that experience with helping to develop her multidimensional musicality.
By the time Jivén was 11, she had started writing songs of her own on the piano. At the age of 13, she made a major leap forward in her music career by winning the coveted golden buzzer on “Sweden’s Got Talent.” Soon after completing her time on the show, Jivén began working with A-list co-writers and producers in Stockholm and Los Angeles, carefully carving out the exquisitely composed yet unpredictable sound that defines her music today.
“Can we turn this off?
Along with landing her deal with Universal Music Sweden, Jivén also recently signed with the legendary booking agent, Tom Windish (an industry veteran known for developing the touring careers of superstars like Billie Eilish and Lorde).
For the many fans who keep up with her on TikTok, the raw sincerity of Jivén’s debut will come as no surprise. Not only a showcase for her more whimsical creative side (such as a 2020 video in which she narrated assembling a sandwich, capturing each step in breezy sing-song melody), the platform has brought Jivén closer to fulfilling one of her main ambitions as an artist.
“I have a lot of young girls following me. And it’s important for me to show them that they can be whoever they want to be—that they can be themselves no matter what. I try to be honest and direct with them, and it’s the same thing with my music. I always want to be as genuine as I can be in my songs so that when you hear them you just feel it in your gut.” – Paula Jivén explained
A massively prolific songwriter, Jivén has developed multiple albums’ worth of material over the past two years. And in the making of her debut EP, she’s created a body of work that fully honors her complexity as an artist and as a young woman finding her place in the world.
“Say That” single
We recommend adding Paula Jivén’s “Say That” single to your favorite alternative-pop 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. Furthermore, always remember that (P) Positive, (E) Energy, (A) Always, (C) Creates, (E) Elevation (P.E.A.C.E).
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