ALAINA CASTILLO DISCUSSES DOUBT ON "JUST A BOY"

Houston native Alaina Castillo started singing in church as a child. While in high school, she began posting videos on YouTube and developed her soothing, R&B sound. Since then, she’s been found on Spotify’s “New Music Friday” and “Pop Rising” playlists. While evoking melodic sensibilities of Daniel Caesar, Castillo writes music in both English and Spanish. She cites influences including SZA, H.E.R., and classical musicians like Andrea Bocelli.

"JUST A BOY" - ALAINA CASTILLO

On “just a boy,” Castillo’s velvety voice delivers some very self-aware lyrics over a stripped back guitar track. “Just a boy” is about being let down by one man, leading to the expectation that all men suck (lol). In all seriousness, Castillo discusses the complexity of doubting someone’s loyalty. The opening lyrics set the stage, reading “I know you said that you would never hurt me / But it's not your fault, I'll still think the worst anyway.” I don’t know if any of you fine readers have also gotten deep into Love Island over the last few weeks at home, but two words come to mind in a British (or Australian) accent: self sabotage. Whether these doubts are the result of overthinking, or based on experience from previous relationships, the song is totally relatable for those who have trust issues.

In an interview with NME, Castillo described the song to be “ the moment when you decide to either trust someone or end things badly and let it cast a shadow on all your future relationships.” This shadow comes in during the second verse when she says “I'm just a spiteful, psycho, walking tightropes / Tryna catch you outta line.” Maybe those are the words of a previous boyfriend whose actions instilled that sense of doubt (also bonus points for the amazing internal rhyme in that line).

“Just a boy” is a single off of Castillo’s upcoming the voicenotes EP, which We Are: The Guard could not be more excited for!

Arielle Tindel is a Berklee College of Music student from Cleveland, OH. She will graduate in December with degrees in Music Business Marketing and Songwriting. In her free time, Arielle can be found gardening or playing bass.