EP Review: "LOOK AT ME" - Aashika Reddy
- Kaitlyn Nicole
- 9 hours ago
- 4 min read
Making cultural waves in the mainstream music world, Aashika Reddy has dropped her debut EP, "LOOK AT ME".
“I want to be the brown girl pop star I didn’t have growing up... This project is bigger than music - it’s a cultural statement. There’s no one else doing what I’m doing, and this release is just the beginning..." - Aashika Reddy
TRACKLIST
3 STEPS
LOOK AT ME
time machine
Want it
NOBODY BUT YOU
luving u blind
Aashika Reddy is a singer/songwriter based in Toronto, Canada with South Asian roots. Currently only 17 years old, Aashika wants to be the rare representation for young girls like her within the mainstream pop music world, while also taking influence from other popular genres such as RnB, trap, house, Afrobeat, and nods to traditional Carnatic tones in there as well. Aashika officially started releasing music in 2023 with her first ever single, "Issues". Since then, she's been leading up to this moment of debuting her first ever EP. Aashika loves to write about the relatable things every teenager needs to hear, from love and heartbreak, to just trying to figure yourself out. Aashika hopes to inspire more South Asian voices to step into the spotlight of pop music.
“These songs are for brown girls who’ve never seen themselves in this space, for chaotic romantics who vent in their notes app and dance in their room, and for anyone who’s ever felt ‘too much’ - and learned to love that about themselves.” - Aashika Reddy
3 STEPS
We begin the EP with "3 STEPS". This song is about recognizing that you did something wrong to hurt someone, and wanting to do anything and everything to make it right, even though now it might be too late. The best way to describe this song is perfectly chaotic. The groove, instrumentation and production beautifully match the emotion of the lyrics. You can hear the panic and the moment when the realization sets in that Aashika is never getting this person back. There's so much pain and distortion as the song progresses. It starts as a simple, classic, glimmering RnB song and builds into a rockier, dystopian and experimental experience. Aashika sings beautifully throughout it all, like she's talking right to this person, just pleading for everything to be okay. Her falsetto is angelic, and by the end of the song you're just grasping at your heart, whether it's in empathy for her or if you can personally relate to this situation.
LOOK AT ME
Next we have the title track, "LOOK AT ME". Have you ever been able to look someone in the eye and just know that their lying to you? They're saying everything you want to hear, but their eyes tell a different story. "LOOK AT ME" is about knowing that your man is messing around with someone else, but they don't want to admit it. Although the topic is heavy, the song itself is a whole bop. The beat is heavy with tons of RnB influence in the groove, but keeping it pop at the same time. The melody is especially catchy with syncopation in its rhythm. Aashika shows off vocally, reminding me a bit of Ariana Grande behind her tone.
time machine
"time machine" is a beautifully tragic, stripped-down ballad. Featuring mostly piano and muted drums, "time machine" uses classic RnB influence with blues chords to create an emotional soundscape for Aashika to sing her heart out across. So far, "time machine" has the most poetic, vulnerable and heartbreaking lyrics I've seen from Aashika. This song is about being in love with someone who is not ready to fully commit to you. You keep sitting and waiting for them to tell you it's time to finally be together, for real and for good, but it never happens. The pain just makes time drag on even longer, and you wish you could just fast forward through it all - even if it means you have to move on.
Want it
Taking a full 180 from the last track, "Want it" is a fun and playful song about running into someone completely irresistible. They've got such a special way about them that you've lost all control of who you usually are - and you will do anything to make them yours. "Want it" has an upbeat, nostalgic rhythm with a funky bass. It will have you wanting to move and groove.
NOBODY BUT YOU
Have you ever been with someone who is all about you, and you're all about them? At this point in knowing them, you couldn't imagine ever having a life without them? That's what "NOBODY BUT YOU" is about - loving someone so endlessly and unconditionally, that it's actually terrifying to even think about ever leaving their side. The soundscape of this song sounds straight out of the club. It has a Carnatic influenced beat to add some cultural flare, with a production that is pumping and electronic. During the hook, Aashika sings with a vocoder, adding another cool layer of electro-pop flare.
luving u blind
The outro song is the short and sweet track, "luving u blind". With a smooth groove and a raw instrumentation, Aashika sings of loving someone who isn't good for her, but she couldn't see any of the lies or toxicity that was happening right in front of her. This is a very common thing that happens to a lot of people who fall in love, and it's called seeing through rose colored glasses. We so desperately want to believe that what we have is good, that we can't see the bad. The song gently ends with a soft electric guitar riff, drums and reverb.
"LOOK AT ME" is a brilliant and beautiful debut work from Aashika Reddy. At such a young age still, you would never know from the maturity of her voice and lyrics that she is only 17 years old. Not only that, but the determination to step up and represent South Asian women in mainstream music is so incredibly inspiring. She said it herself that this is still only the beginning, and if this is what she can already do now at 17, I can't wait to hear what is yet to come. If you enjoyed "LOOK AT ME", make sure to follow Aashika on her social pages below to keep up on her journey!
Written By Kaitlyn Nicole
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