| Donna explains, “We ran around, using what we had and just playing. It was really cathartic. I wanted it to feel like it belonged to the story I had set out to tell with this album, before the stay-at-home order, so I dyed a bodysuit from white to black that my stylist Brett Alan Nelson had made for the ‘Hurt By You’ video. I felt like a kid, remembering what it was like to make things for fun. I think we ended up with something that feels more personal than what we could have made under different (normal) circumstances. So I’m embracing that.”
Check out Donna’s transformation of the Brett Allan Nelson bodysuit in this recent TikTok video. The piece was hand-sewn by Nelson, who has also recently styled Lizzo and Doja Cat. Donna wears a stunning sheer leopard print, two-piece bodysuit in the pool scenes.
The pre-order for Lighter is now underway HERE. Fans who pre-order the album in digital format will instantly receive “Let You Let Me Down” plus the previous single, “Hurt By You,” which Refinery29 named as one of the “Best Songs Of The Spring.” Donna unveiled the official Lighter artwork to fans in a social-driven “unlock” campaign earlier this week on her website, www.donnamissal.com.
“Hurt By You” has already amassed more than one million cumulative global streams and been featured on numerous playlists. The official video, which received a YouTube premiere, has been added to MTVu. NYLON noted, “This song was made for rolling the windows down and speeding on the backroads.” Ones to Watch observed, “Missal’s voice has the ability to wrench your heart…Her passionate grit translates in her exhales alone.” Donna recently released a stripped-down version of “Hurt By You,” accompanied simply by piano. Listen HERE.
Early in the recording process, Donna decided on the album’s title: Lighter. She explains, “It represents the concept of burning shit down all around you and rising from the ashes.” Ironically, through writing about the process of heartbreak and destruction, she’s now more firmly in the driving seat than ever. Where her debut LP captured little moments, Lighter is the big picture. Produced by Andrew Wells (X Ambassadors, Fitz and the Tantrums, Bebe Rexha), it’s an album about fragility, self-acceptance and self-discovery. It’s a timeless work from an artist who’s not playing by anyone else’s rules.
Praising Donna’s debut album, This Time (Harvest Records), Earmilk said, “A sound like this cannot be missed…we’re in full orbit around this star.” She supported the album with a sold-out, 20-date U.S. headline tour. Donna has also played numerous festivals – including Austin City Limits and Bonnaroo – and toured with such artists as King Princess, Lewis Capaldi, Bishop Briggs, K.Flay, Joywave, Sir Sly, and Barns Courtney.
Track Listing – Lighter
1. How Does It Feel
2. Hurt By You
3. Carefully
4. Best Friend
5. Slow Motion
6. Let You Let Me Down
7. Bloom
8. Just Like You
9. Who Loves You
10. I’m Not Ready |
