Drawing us in with an ethereal piano performance and delicate, atmospheric vocalizations, Leonie Sherif opens SUNBURN with a dimensional riser before sharing the lyrics, “Can you keep it real cos I’m hoping, ask me how I feel, barely coping, to keep it real, yeah I’m broken, closed eyes never open…”
We immediately connect with the warmth and vulnerability that manifests as the talented and visionary multi-disciplinary creative shares a more intimate and personal side of her artistry. In essence, SUNBURN is about emotional pain that won’t go away.
Leonie Sherif shares notions of heartbreak, burnout and feeling mentally stuck. She conveys poetically how she feels broken, haunted by memories and trapped in her own mind. This feels so raw and authentic, a side of the artist that we have yet to explore.
The fragrance designer and pop star sing about how life feels unreal, slow, and overwhelming, like a bad dream or simulation. Even after trying to move on, the pain still burns – hence the title of the track. There is a pull to return to what hurt her, despite knowing it’s toxic. The also shows how suffering is hidden behind a fake sense of being okay. This feels super relatable, and we applaud Leonie for truly sharing her lived experience like this. We could imagine the song being featured in a TV show like 13 Reasons Why, or Euphoria on HBO.
Leonie confesses, “SUNBURN functions as both a literal and emotional metaphor. A sunburn is not the moment of exposure. It is the aftermath. The delayed realisation. The sting that surfaces hours later. The tenderness, the peeling, the fragile new skin underneath. Recovery is slow and uneven. You do not wake up restored. You move through it day by day.”
The song comes with an evocative music video which sees the star share her soul in a fiery, tropical universe, bringing life her message with charisma, uniqueness and power. We also learn that the idea of the song speaks to the star’s deeper relationship with endurance, specifically her experience of living with chronic pain, including endometriosis. It also taps into her work advocating in women’s health spaces, which has shaped her view of resilience.
SUNBURN was written and produced by Leonie Sherif in her home studio, with all production and vocal arrangements handled independently, alongside light co-production, and final mixing and mastering support from DahSherif and SP Deville.
Leonie confesses that the track draws influence from R&B and pop architects like Babyface, Darkchild, Timbaland, Teddy Riley, Rich Harrison, and The Neptunes, filtered through a contemporary alternative R&B and electronica lens with a Jersey club pulse.
Needless to say, we are in awe, and have added SUNBURN to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TIMELESS playlist, whilst we continue to stream the wider discography of Leonie Sherif, and anticipate future releases from the talented artist.