RIIKI REID is keeping summer alive with her new single.
The Aotearoa singer-songwriter returns with “Over Romantic”, a sun-drenched, lovestruck song and a confident first taste of her next project.
Built around the hook—“sun drunk, in love, kiss me like you do, tell me that I’m pretty and I might not sober up”—the track captures the intoxicating rush of a summer romance.
“‘Over Romantic’ follows this story of meeting someone for the first time in the summer, but really, it’s just about romanticising the summer,” REID explains. “I would love this song to feel like that for people, because that’s how it feels for me.”
She adds: “I want this song to be the memento you take away from your summer. I always end up having a song every summer, where I’m like, that song was the song that reminds me of summer 2017.”
Following the release of Skin, REID told Rolling Stone AU/NZ how the project became a cathartic outlet.
“This EP is all about bringing walls down and being more vulnerable,” she said. “It’s really just sharing experiences like a diary. I hope other people will hear it and maybe say, ‘I’ve been thinking that in my head and hearing it out loud from someone else makes me feel like I can also release those feelings too.’”
For REID, making an impact through creativity is everything. “I think about the people in my life who inspired me, and if I can have the same impact for other people, that would be such a win for me,” she said.
And the connection is already there. “It’s been cool hearing that people are connecting with [‘Skin’]. I’ve been playing it live in all my shows since we first made it, so it’s special for people to go, ‘I remember you playing, that song has stuck with me from that show four years ago.’”
Read the full interview from 2024 here.
REID was also chosen as the Opening Act in the March issue of Rolling Stone AU/NZ.
RIIKI REID’s “Over Romantic” is out now via Warner Music Australia.
