VIDEO: WILSN drops new single + visual for “Fight Like A Girl”

You may have heard whispers of WILSN before – the Nashville-by-way-of-Melbourne songstress racked up 1M streams on her debut EP Don’t Give Up independently. Since her arrival on the scene, she’s garnered praise from HillyDilly, The Guardian, and Complex’s Pigeons & Planes to name a few. Influenced by iconic voices like Aretha Franklin, Amy Winehouse, and Lauryn Hill, WILSN embraces her old soul unapologetically while adding a touch of modern flare on each track.

With this in mind, it’s no surprise she’s already supported notable acts such as the late Charles Bradley, Allen Stone, and Meg Mac, is represented ICM Partners (Blackbear, Kamasi Washington, Khalid, Lalah Hathaway, Nicki Minaj), and has a worldwide publishing deal with Pulse/Native Tongue (BORNS, Miike Snow, DRAM, Courtney Barnett).

With WILSN, what you see is what you get – a real singer, with real songs, and a real band. She is a force to be reckoned with on stage, captivating audiences with her vocal prowess. With each commanding performance, her authentic brand of soul-influenced pop comes to life.

Earlier this year, the singer-songwriter unleashed her own medley of soul, jazz, and pop entitled “Home,” the very first taste of music to come following “Do This” which launched just ahead of the new year as a middle finger to the industry and those who advised her to mold into the mainstream. Crafted in Nashville, TN, WILSN enlisted the help of Jon Upton and Stephen Mowat, as well as bass player Adam Keafer (Kacey Musgraves) and drummer Jake Finch (Lucy Dacus). PopMatters called the track “entrancing” and “moving” and additionally raved about WILSN’s “masterful [storytelling].” Shortly following the audio release, the nostalgia-filled video made from WILSN’s personal footage launched exclusively via NYLON.

Now she’s back with a vengeance, sharing her new single and video for “Fight Like A Girl.” On the single/video she said: “Fight Like A Girl” was written in Nashville with Daniel Ellsworth. Before we wrote this song I had been doing a lot of co-writing sessions – they were mainly with men and I was starting to get fed up with how I was being treated in the sessions. It was like I was just the extra in the room who’s opinion wasn’t worth anything. The unknown writer who was yet to prove herself. The singer who got put in the “too shy” box before she even had a chance to open her mouth and sing. There were a few situations where I did get the satisfaction of getting in the vocal booth at the end of the session to record the final demo and seeing the shocked faces on the other side of the glass lol. When I got to Nashville I ended up venting all of my frustrations on Dan in our writing session. He went with me and “Fight Like A Girl” came out! The choir in the chorus is made up of me and 5 singer friends of mine in Nashville. We got together to drink wine, eat homemade pasta, and record this song. I won’t forget the feeling of belting out those lyrics alongside 5 strong, crazy talented, amazing women!

For the music video I wanted to include all of the amazing women I’d met around the world as the song is about more than just me. Every woman has been through something similar. I was inspired by the signs at all the women’s marches happening all around the world. So I had the women all write down a word or two that they thought represented them and their own personal fight for equality, or a word that represents what being a woman means to them in today’s society. These signs and words helped to underpin the lyrical content of the song. I gathered the DIY clips myself over about 6 months from women in Sydney, Melbourne, Nashville, LA, Mumbai, Geelong, and Point Lonsdale then I slowly pieced the video together. The extra footage filmed was edited by Thomas Groom.

Watch it below: