It’s been a monumental year for singer-songwriter Gillian Heidi and she’s showing no signs of slowing down. Today, the pop newcomer is sharing the official music video for “desperate,” one of the singles from her upcoming debut album, 3AM.
The full-bodied R&B-pop track is brought to life in the new visual directed by Austin Barbera of SixTwentySix. Created in the midst of quarantine, they opted to film remotely using a green screen to transport Gillian into a kaleidoscopic, Y2K-inspired world.
Though just sixteen years old, Boston-native Gillian demonstrates a musicality wise beyond her years. With powerful, reflective lyrics, rich vocal chops, and clever pop melodies, her songs are relatable but never predictable. She chronicles life’s ups and downs, ebbs and flows, and trials and tribulations with thoughtful clarity, poetic eloquence, and a stirring soulful voice.
As it does, music essentially chose Gillian. Rather than waking up crying in her crib, she typically arose from slumber by singing. Inspired by her older brother, she picked up piano at just four-years-old, penning her first composition only a year later. With dad keeping a guitar around the house, she grabbed it at the age of twelve and taught herself how to play. Under the influence of everyone from Taylor Swift to Ella Mai, the teen singer-songwriter dove into assembling what would become her independent debut EP, Unfiltered.
Gillian made her debut with the release of her 2019 EP, Unfiltered and the lead single, “What It Felt Like,” impressively tallied 200K Spotify streams — no small feat for an unsigned artist’s debut. She kicked off 2020 with a slew of new singles, “high,” “static,” “desperate,” and her most recent pop ballad, “fray.” With her debut album, 3AM, on the horizon, Gillian Heidi is quickly emerging as a pop newcomer to watch out for.