By: Eva Lynch
This morning, Manchester born and raised singer-songwriter Pip Millett debuted her newest single ‘Better’ on A COLORS SHOW. ‘Better’ is a melancholic track about insecurity and Millett’s efforts to truly get to know herself. This sentiment was emphasized in the performance by the way that her voice reverberated off the studio walls as it built and echoed behind her. In contrast to some of the relatively high-energy dance songs that Millett has favoured in her recent releases, the lyrics of this song strip her to the core. It is a brutally honest and frustrated glimpse into what we might presume is a past relationship, tapping into her unresolved anger and vulnerability to articulate how small and insignificant she was made to feel during constant fights where she was blamed for the relationship’s downfall, especially as the chorus repeats: “Bitch I know you mad,/I know you sad,/I know we’re all just,/I know we’re all just insecure.” This single follows the release of her EP Tell Jimmy which she put out the week of Valentine’s Day. ‘Better’ is a project that is simultaneously heartbreaking and cathartic, walking us through Millett’s heartbreak, then a near universal wrestling with complicated feelings of still being in love despite your best judgment, and how we can get lost in one another. The project has us witness Pip’s tenderness and growth in the face of her pain, grief, loss, and anger, and showcases how it’s been carefully orchestrated for us us to take that journey with her. Tell Jimmy opens with her most vulnerable and aching lyrics, and over the course of the five tracks in the EP, we hear Millett grow more self-assured and confident by working through these complex emotions.
This special surprise release of ‘Better’ on the platform COLORS is a full circle moment for Millett, who performed her hit song ‘Make Me Cry’ on COLORS in 2019, which quickly became one of their most watched and heavily circulated performances. She joins the likes of other London Neo-Soul and R&B voices like Cleo Sol, Joy Crookes, and Jorja Smith, among many others, who have been featured on the show. Discovering COLORS several years ago was life changing and has introduced me to several artists that have become personal favourites. It’s an amazing platform to watch artists of all calibers from all around the world come together for the opportunity to be brought to center stage. Getting to watch Millett perform the song for the first time on COLORS was spectacular. She transports her audience along with her into the story of ‘Better,’ sharing every part of her vulnerability and eventual acceptance in the emotions written across her face. In a statement on Instagram sharing a clip of the song, she writes that she “feel[s] very grateful to have been given a special platform to share this […] the openness you hear is all true.” Her rich voice carries a rare kind of authenticity that is difficult to match and fills her songs with unbridled emotion, letting her listeners connect deeply with her message.
In a way, this single also feels like a response or continuity to her last album, When Everything Is Better, I’ll Let You Know, which was one of my favourite albums of last year. Perhaps “Better” is her letting us know that everything is, in fact, better, and she is ready to move on. It could be a hint of a shift in tide that has yet to come. It seems like Millett is weaving a web between her projects, threading together this transitory phase between her debut album and this latest signal, hopefully with a promise of something more in the works. Visual hints of a continuation from her last EP, Tell Jimmy, are included in ‘Better’: the EP’s cover art features the words “Tell Jimmy,” on Millett’s back, whereas the single’s cover art extends the lyric, displaying “Tell Jimmy I’m Fine” on her torso. Either way, this surprise release is a treat to all, and it’s a joy to watch Pip Millett’s vision come together. I can’t wait to see what she does next!