Track of the Day: Lenii - 'White Lie'

Rising artist Lenii has shared her brand new single 'White Lie', chosen by the internet as her newest release after the first verse went viral on TikTok.

After the recent report of the shockingly cruel conditions in the Catholic Church's Mother and Baby Homes in Ireland, 'White Lie' has resonated with an audience of young, rebellious Gen Z and Millennial fans, for whom Lenii has become somewhat of a spokesperson, voicing a stance against outdated, misogynistic hypocrisy.

The first verse of the track amassed millions of streams and over 100K new TikTok followers for the producer/singer-songwriter, prompting Lenii to fast-track the release.

Since studying at Dubspot, the Cork artist has written and produced for many developing and established acts, but her own music is now entering the main stage in both the US and her homeland of Ireland. Lenii's viral TikTok hit ‘The Kids Are All Rebels’ amassed over half-a-million streams within weeks, while her debut EP In All Fairness... reached No. 1 on the iTunes Ireland chart.

Questioning her Catholic upbringing - in 'White Lie' Lenii discusses a relationship that would be considered "sinful" - leaving the nature of the relationship open to interpretation (same-sex or just sexual in general).

Her signature sharp lyrics cut through a choir of "Amen"s and powerfully target the superiority complex that features in most organised religions.

“Don’t pretend that you’re higher than Pius, in the end we all fight to be highest”/ "It's a little bigger than a white lie, telling me you could be the good guy".

Lenii’s reputation for unfiltered honesty, with a lyrical wit and humour she credits to her Irish upbringing made her one of Hot Press' Hot for 2021 Irish acts.

Inspired by the power of the #MeToo Movement and driven by her own experiences, Lenii's previous single -'SLIP' - was unapologetically centred around the topic of sexism in the music industry and society in general. Accompanied by a snake-themed music video, Lenii's final release of 2020 dropped the usually sarcastic humour to focus on a more serious topic that hits her hard as a female producer.

However heavy the topic, Lenii's tongue-in-cheek sense of wit pierces through as she compares herself to Tones and I and sighs "it seems the Devil's always winning".

Listen to 'White Lie' ("a song my Irish Catholic nana would hate") below:

https://open.spotify.com/track/6lZRybpY3OTgnufOBR91dg