Scarlight – “Forbidden Love”

Scarlight – “Forbidden Love” – Single Review

Everybody out there loves a great story of resilience & determination – you’ll find that in Scarlight.

As far as I know based on these scattered notes I’ve got upon my dusty desk here at sleepingbagstudios, she’s only sixteen years old, and her music is coming to our Canadian-based pages all the way from where she’s based out of in Warsaw, Poland.  So…I mean…right off the bat, that makes it impressive that she’s already learned an entire second language and is confident enough to be singing in English at such a young age.  I’m in my freakin’ forties and I barely know how to say hello in any other language other than my own, and chances are, that’s gonna be the way things remain.  I’ve got nothing but respect for those out there with the mental capacity to learn another language, I genuinely think it speaks volumes on behalf of someone’s intelligence and their ability to learn – so truly Scarlight, you’ve got my respect.

What most of you will find even more interesting as you’re listening to her brand-new single called “Forbidden Love” though, is her endlessly resilient spirit.  From what I understand, she’s been battling all kinds of health concerns – which is already a tough situation to be going through at the age of sixteen – but get this…she’s actually lost most of her hearing as well.  For those of you out there that have ever taken a turn at the microphone, you know how extremely devastating this could potentially be for a singer/songwriter.  The reality is, for the vast majority, that’d be the end of a career, rather than the start – and I suppose you could certainly say that’s a large part of what makes Scarlight the special exception that she is.  Rather than simply give up, she actually dug in deeper, and refused to give up on her dreams.  I find that absolutely inspiring, and I’m positive I won’t be the only one that feels that way.

For real – just imagine for a second that you always wanted to sing, but you couldn’t hear what you were singing, or had significant trouble hearing what was coming out of your own mouth.  This situation would be too much to bear for most folks – yet, when it comes to young Scarlight here, she chose to turn this potential tragedy into triumph and a personal victory.  Honestly, that’s amazing.  I think most of us can only wish we’d be able to persevere in the face of such extraordinary adversity, but the reality is, most of us wouldn’t.  Scarlight is built differently in that regard & she should be incredibly proud of that.

All that being said, my job is to remain as objective as possible and do my level best to critique what’s coming through my speakers without considering too much about the story behind the music I’m listening to.  I’ve had to tell some folks the bad news in the hardest situations, because that’s what a real critic is supposed to do.  For example – I’ve had to tell someone that had terminal cancer that their music wasn’t quite up to par in the past…not because I’m evil, but simply because I’m honest.  What might shock you even more was that my feedback was appreciated, because when you enter into these situations in life where health becomes a true concern, most people actually stop giving you their honest opinion.  It’s natural to feel empathy for people going through something with their health, but it’s always been bizarre to me that people would somehow trade honest conversations for fake concern.

So take it to heart Scarlight – I like a lot of what I hear in “Forbidden Love.”  I’ll be as honest with you as I would be with anyone else and say that I think you’ve probably got a chorus in this single that outshines the verse by a fair margin – but that’s more on the writing & strengths of the hooks than it is about the quality of your performance.  When it comes to the vocals, I felt like Scarlight has no problem holding her own and going for the moment with everything she’s got.  The verses of “Forbidden Love” are alright – I’ve got nothing against’em at all really, they’re fine – but it’s the main hooks of this single and in her harmonies/backing vocals that she goes on to reveal how sensational she’s capable of being as a singer.  I felt like when it comes to the chorus of “Forbidden Love,” she knocked it right outta the park, and the amount of soul she displays in her vocals throughout her harmonies was truly superb.  As far as the verses go, while they might not have the glossy appeal that the chorus contains, the technique that Scarlight displays should not go unnoticed.  She knows how to sing, and though she might have trouble hearing her voice as well as we do, she’s clearly got the right instincts and natural talent to guide her.

“Forbidden Love” sounds solid all the way through overall from a production standpoint, and the writing is good too.  It’s a Pop/R&B love song…so obviously it’s tough to recreate the wheel at this point in music’s history and even tougher to do that at sixteen years old – but there’s no doubt in my mind that Scarlight should be proud of what she’s accomplished and the results that she’s achieved in this single.  All-in-all, I think she’s got a great thing goin’ on…and perhaps more importantly, I think she makes music that proves she won’t need to rely on her story and the issues of her health to convince people to listen – her vocals & the empowering spirit she displays when she sings will be what listeners truly connect to.

With the level of determination she has, the last thing that Scarlight needs from me or anyone else is a green light or confirmation that she should continue doing what she loves to do – she’s already fully aware that her dreams are completely within her control & already doing her best to turn them into her daily reality.  She’s seriously inspiring on several levels, and she’s been a sincere pleasure to listen to.

Find out more about about Scarlight from her page at Instagram here:  https://www.instagram.com/scarlight.music

HEY YOU!  YES YOU!  You – the person reading this RIGHT NOW!  Instead of emailing us to find out how you could be the next up on our pages at sleepingbagstudios and waiting days for our response – just click here will ya!?!