Hailing from Derby, England, Jemma Johnson is a rising singer-songwriter who has been slowly but surely releasing songs for quite a while now. Johnson’s musical inspirations are David Bowie and Paramore, among others, and her music fits in the alternative pop genre. Over the past few years, Johnson has played at several small festivals and supported other artists on tour in the UK to build her fan base. On the 1st of May, she released her latest track ‘Obsessed’.
The track, about 2,5 minutes long, opens with an intense piano and drum beat, before Johnson starts singing the first verse a few seconds in. The song tells the story of how the singer “locked eyes” with another person and became immediately obsessed with them. In the first verse, she sings how she’s “lovestruck” and does not know what to do about it. As the song dives into its first chorus, the beat dies out for a second before the piano and drums return halfway through. The best part of this chorus is the faraway vocals that can be heard in the background in between the lyrics “I’m a little obsessed”, which go “tripping on my head like a chemical” and “do you even know that you got control?”.
The second verse repeats much the same beat as the first one, but includes the same background vocals as the chorus. Johnson sings “I tried to walk away, still delirious, then you asked me to stay” with the vocals repeating that exact question (“Do you wanna stay?” in the background. The second chorus is the same as the first, right up until the ending when it morphs into the song’s bridge. “You feel it too, I know you do,” Johnson repeats four times before going into the final chorus. The way the song builds works very well; the final chorus perfectly merges the same structure as the other two with the vocals from the bridge and a lot of ad-libs. As soon as Johnson sings “I’m a little obsessed” for the final time, the song is immediately over.
Johnson’s Instagram bio states that “if it’s toxic, I’ve probably got a chorus about it”, which goes hand in hand with the content of this song she just released. She’s completely into this person, but it’s not so much a genuine connection as a parasocial relationship. It’s a dark, alternative pop song that works with Johnson’s haunting voice.
Written by: Mandy Huibregtsen
Edited by: Ilse Muis
