Singer-songwriter Alyssa Reid has just released “Sleep Without You”, her highly anticipated follow-up to her hit, “Die For Love.” Alyssa talks about the difficult few months after a relationship ends, and how isolating it can feel. In the first verse, Alyssa said that’s doesn’t go out until the sun sets and doesn’t go out with friends “cause I’m not a good friend to be around.” Alyssa is left in silence, and the silence is deafening. She reminisces on a time when she used to stay up late with her boyfriend, but now she’s awake because she’s not with him. Alyssa says that she wishes her ex was here with her, but she’s trying to not feel this way. Then, in the chorus, she says that she’s trying to go out and be busy, but she says “I’m drowning in pity/cause I’m missing you.” Alyssa then throws questions at her ex, asking if his new girl loves him the way she does, and she reiterates that she can’t “sleep without [him].” After the chorus, Alyssa brings back a memory of when he played their song three times when he drove her home one night. She then says, “I know you’re gone/but I haven’t moved at all” because she feels so stuck in the past. Alyssa asks if he still has her number saved, just in case he wants to call. Alyssa feels so attached to the good memories and feelings of her past relationship, and she just can’t move on.
Alyssa blends experimental elements and instrumentals with a true electronic pop song. The song starts off with falling synthesizer notes, which listeners hear throughout the song. The percussive instruments aren’t the classic drum kit, but rather a fusion of tried-and-true beats with a variety of non-traditional percussion instruments that add a unique flair to the song. As Alyssa's voice comes in for the first, her use of the vocoder captivates the listener. A vocoder is a speech-coding device that analyzes the human voice and synthesizes it for a variety of purposes. It first became popular in the late 1970s, but artists still use the vocoder today. Alyssa’s voice is amazing, and the reverb applied to her vocals really adds to the track. She also used synth strings in the track at the end of the pre-chorus, which perfectly drops the listener into the chorus.
Alyssa Reid has a long history with the music industry, dating all the way back to 2008. Alyssa got her start on the show, The Next Star, a Canadian reality TV show. Reid was signed two years later to Wax Records after co-founder Jamie Appleby saw her viral YouTube parody of Justin Bieber’s “One Less Lonely Girl.” In late 2010, Alyssa released her single “Alone Again”, taking lyrics from Heart’s 1987 hit “Alone”. The song entered the Canadian Hot 100 charts and stayed there for 39 weeks. Alyssa then landed herself the number one spot on Billboard’s Canadian Emerging Artists chart, holding that spot for a record-breaking 33 weeks. Now, Alyssa has five albums, the most recent one being in June of 2023. Alyssa Reid has amassed great successes over her career, and she will continue to break records and innovate in the music industry.
Written By Lauren DiGiovanni
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