Sophia Messa Relinquishes A Sugar-Coated, Toxic Love in "Ice Cream & Cigarettes"
Brazilian-American wunderkind, Sophia Messa offers a look at the darker side of a painfully-sweet first love in third single to date "Ice Cream & Cigarettes." An ironically celebratory processional, soaked in sparkling harmonies and orchestral instrumentation, Messa leads her listeners through the torturous recourse of letting go of a sugar-coated, toxic romance.
A strong follow up to previous released 2019 singles "moneydontfixlonely" and "What Am I Gonna Do With You," which together garnered over 6 million streams to date on Spotify alone, the 20-year old, first-generation-American is steadily cutting through the noise, turning heads across the industry. Featuring her controlled, yet sultry vocals and a myriad of paradoxical concepts down to the title, she cunningly mirrors the idea of a heavenly love gone to hell.
Co-written by a powerhouse team of collaborators including Jenna Andrews (BENEE, BANKS, Noah Cyrus), D. Arcelious "Swagg" Harris (H.E.R., Teyana Taylor, Kehlani), Paul “Phamous" Shelton (Dua Lipa, Nick Jonas, Lennon Stella), Cook Classics (Ava Max, Beyonce, Panic! At The Disco), Nate Donmoyer (Gesaffelstein, Twin Shadow, Passion Pit), and Gayathri Karunakar Menon, "Ice Cream & Cigarettes" oozes the pop-palatability and star-potential that every rising artist aspires to.
Paired with a visual companion filmed during quarantine, the video features Messa performing solo, giving her audience a glimpse of her prowess as a live performer. Reminiscing on the making of the video she shared,
"Making a music video during quarantine in the middle of a global pandemic was definitely way different than my past experiences to say the least! I honestly enjoyed it a lot more than having a ton of people on set. It felt a lot more free to create with just one person. The director shot the whole thing himself. We had to stay six feet apart so I wasn't able to look at all the shots like I usually would be able to, but I really trusted the director and our vision. We just had fun with it."
A born-and-raised New Yorker, native to the arms of Lower Manhattan, Messa has been cultivating her craft since childhood. Attending the The Professional Performing Arts Schools from middle school through high school, she classically trained in vocal performance and opera. Starting her songwriting journey in high school, she was accepted to the Berklee College of Music before the culmination of her senior year. Yet only three weeks later and 24-hours after meeting with CEO/President of Arista Records, David Massey, Messa signed a record deal, launching the young creative's musical career.
Check out the video for "Ice Cream & Cigarettes" below & be on look for Messa debut EP, due later this year!
