ANAHEIM, Calif. — If writing on heartache is Neriah’s superpower, then falling in love is her kryptonite.
For the Los Angeles-born and raised pop artist, every song is heartfelt from beginning to end, meticulously detailing every ounce of despair and the toxic motives of various ex-boyfriends who’ve only made her stronger. In turn, she’s created a compelling repertoire that’s relatable for anyone who’s faced the messy turbulence, yet divine intervention, of a breakup.
At the age of 5, Neriah, stylized as NERIAH, wrote her first song, “The Wishing Well,” after the unexpected divorce of her parents. During that time, her father painted a portrait of Neriah and her sister sitting in front of a wishing well, which inspired her first songwriting effort.
Raised between Brentwood and Malibu, cruising down Pacific Coast Highway most evenings was Neriah’s safe haven, allowing her to sing — with streams of tears and the occasional screams — as she molded those pivotal stories that would become her third and latest EP, “No One Cries Forever,” which was released Friday.
“It’s such a special collection of songs because the idea that no one cries forever during a breakup is true,” she shared during a recent phone interview. “I’ve had exes in the past where I thought it would take me years to get over. And (one) ex, whom I mostly write everything about, took me almost two and a half years, and it was this constant feeling of ‘Am I ever going to be over him? Am I still going to miss him or the little things that reminded me of him?’ So this project was, for me, the first time I thought, ‘Wow, I’m over it, I’m done.’ It was a sense of closure that I never got in my relationship, which is nice to find that in music. I never felt that before.”
Neriah shared that she really had no intention of creating a project like “No One Cries Forever” in the first place. Every song on the EP shifts sonically and emotionally. For almost a year and a half, the now 23-year-old popstress would write two to three songs daily, detailing the tropes of longing for someone you know you shouldn’t want, but still do anyways. With a stack of songs, Neriah wanted to ensure fans felt like they were picking out a page from a personal diary as the conversational verses flowed throughout.
“What’s interesting about the EP for me, is that it goes into different sounds,” she explained. “I think this project is a showcase of all the varieties and all the different sounds in order for me to find my sound and who I am.”
In real-time, Neriah was healing while writing, confessing that crying her eyes out was always a timely thing as she wrote. Tracks like the pop rock anthem “Shoulda, Coulda, Didn’t” is something she notes as an emotional release. With the melodramatic ballad “Blockbuster,” she flips the loneliness into resilience, which begins to shine midway through the EP.
“I think that’s what’s so beautiful about it,” she said. “Even through all the pain I was feeling, the songs take a new meaning in all the different forms, from writing it to listening to it while I’m crying, to performing. It can really just take this whole other meaning, or it’s about someone else now, and many times while performing the songs, it gives me that sense of closure. You really are getting a piece of my journal. It’s vulnerable, but that’s where the best music comes from. I think everyone can learn from each other and I love that I get to do that for everyone listening.”
Now, Neriah is moving on to bigger things. With the release of the EP, she’s looking forward to releasing her debut studio album next. The forthcoming 24-track record subconsciously became a letter to her past self about realizing that sometimes solitude is more important than staying in something you’re just not happy in. As with the EP, the intention of the new album is to take listeners through a story. She wants fans to know that no matter where you are in the healing journey, no one truly cries forever, and there’s comfort in that.
“I promise to everyone listening and wanting that support, you will move on,” she said. “I know what it’s like to wake up every morning and still think about this person and constantly be reminded about them, but one day, you will. I appreciate all my exes because you learn so much in every relationship. It takes you being with the wrong people multiple times to realize what you do want in someone and how to find the right person. That’s what I found through my music.”
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