B-Side Guys

Estella Dawn shouldn’t have to ask for respect. The fact that she does—repeatedly, in a conversation that shouldn’t need to happen—forms the central frustration of “Conversations,” her latest examination of uneven love and the breaking point where vulnerability hardens into clarity. The San Diego-based artist, originally from New Zealand, builds the track more like a poem than traditional pop structure, letting it unfold through steady climb rather than chorus repetition.

The production mirrors the emotional trajectory from fragility to force. Beginning stripped to piano and alto vocals, Dawn creates confessional intimacy before gradually swelling into layered harmonies and lush instrumentation—strings, synths, vocoders, subtle electronic elements all weaving together. As a singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist who handles every aspect herself, she’s crafted a soundscape that matches the lyrical arc: starting small and vulnerable, building toward something that refuses to be ignored anymore.

The lyrics document the specific exhaustion of being given just enough to hold on to but never enough to feel secure. Dawn sings about disappointments heavy, about lines drawn messily, about ink stains and blue veins—someone literally inside your body whose “best” still isn’t the proper way to love. There’s a particular kind of depletion in always being just beneath the upper hand, in repetitions never planned but somehow always recurring. When she describes coming crawling “like a spineless thing” while simultaneously demanding respect, it captures the contradiction of knowing your worth intellectually while your actions betray desperation.

What gives the track its power is Dawn’s refusal to make this a simple breakup song. She’s wrestling with the tension between believing promises and acknowledging actions, between hoping someone will call to say she means more than they’ve been showing and praying they’ll cut her loose if they can’t deliver. The bridge’s plea—”tell me I deserve ‘the best’ / I know I do / but if you can’t seem to give me that then I pray babe / Oh I pray you’ll cut me loose”—hits harder than anger would. This is someone who’s reached clarity about what they deserve while still being open, still hoping, still exhausted by conversations that shouldn’t need to happen.

With over 7 million streams this year and playlist placements on New Pop Picks, Young & Free, and The Drip, Dawn has been building momentum through tracks like “514 Denim,” “Big Enough,” and “Locked In.” “Conversations” continues her trajectory of fusing pop, soul, hip-hop, and rock while maintaining raw honesty about the messy reality of wanting more than half-measures. For an artist carving space alongside Dermot Kennedy, BANKS, Halsey, and Gracie Abrams, she’s established a sound and perspective entirely her own—one that understands love isn’t meant to be begged for, even when you find yourself doing exactly that.