Gia Darcy is a fast-rising pop artist from Sydney, Australia who just concluded a swing through the U.S. Her latest EP is a treasure trove of great songs, including the title song “Horror Movie” and the ultra-hooky “Toxic” (which isn’t a cover of the Brittany Spears’ hit). But the highlight of the EP is Gia’s song “Say It”, a marvelous exploration of a relationship that’s ending before either person can acknowledge it.
One listen to “Say It” – or one look at the video for “Horror Movie” – and you’ll see why this artist has the potential to become a multi-continent headliner.
“Say It” is one of the best songs of the 2020s, in my opinion. What’s the backstory on that song? What circumstances caused you to write it?
Wow! What a compliment. Thank you so much. I LOVE that song. I wrote it over Zoom with the incredibly talented Ross Newhouse. He lives in New York, but I absolutely love collaborating with him!
The song is about knowing a relationship is over, but admitting it out loud feels impossible. You know you can’t be with this person any more and you think they know it too, but actually walking away from love, or someone important to you, is extremely difficult. If you say it out loud, that means you will have to eventually follow through and live without each other.
Who were your favorite artists growing up?
I absolutely LOVED Michael Jackson growing up. I remember my parents would turn on the TV and I would just stare at him performing on stage and copy all the dance moves.
Do you primarily write songs solo, or do you have co-writers you work with?
I absolutely love collaborating with other songwriters, artists and producers. I think it’s important to get different points of views. I wrote three songs on the EP with Ross Newhouse, and the other two I wrote with my producers Nat Sherwood and James Guido. It’s a very different experience writing a song in the studio versus coming in with a full song. Sometimes the energy in the studio can REALLY influence the songwriting. That’s what happened with both “Save Your Breath” and “Toxic”. When Nat played that first arpeggio on guitar for “Save Your Breath”, I knew it was going to be a really sassy song with tons of attitude.
The video for “Horror Movie” is very creative. Who did the animation for the video?
Yes, it’s an amazing video. I found this incredibly talented illustrator on Tiktok, actually. Her name is Lucy Ingham-Myers. She brought exactly what I wanted to this lyric video – and all of the horror movie references were so creative.
Do you have plans for a U.S. or European tour next year?
I am in the U.S. right now, actually. I played a Sofar Sounds show in San Francisco last week and I have one in L.A. in late November. I would absolutely LOVE to head to Europe next year. I don’t have any plans yet, but who knows…maybe I should make some haha.