SOPHIA MESSA IS AS ADDICTING AS “ICE CREAM & CIGARETTES”
by Jess Grant
7/7/20
Ice cream and cigarettes. These are two items that bring endless pleasure to human beings when consumed in moderation (Oh, who am I kidding? Smoking sucks!). It’s when this pleasure is taken to excess, however, that dangerous habits can start to form, resulting in negative impacts on both a person’s mental and physical well-being.
It’s an apt metaphor, then, for the toxic relationship at the beating heart of best new indie pop song “Ice Cream & Cigarettes” by Sophia Messa.
SOPHIA MESSA - ICE CREAM & CIGARETTES
Born and raised in New York to Brazilian and Russian parents, Sophia Messa has been working on her craft from an extraordinarily young age. It was while attending the Professional Performing Arts School throughout middle and high school that Sophia first classically trained in vocal performance and opera. A love for songwriting soon followed, with Messa’s coveted education continuing into senior year, when she was accepted into Berklee College of Music. Just three weeks into attendance, however, Sophia found herself on a plane heading back to New York, about to launch her career after signing a freshly inked deal with Arista Records.
Listening to “Ice Cream & Cigarettes,” it isn't hard to hear why success has come so readily to Sophia Messa. With a sultry, almost jazzy tone that belies her youth (I’m thinking early Dua Lipa?), the 20-year-old is nothing short of magnetic on this ode to addicting, poisonous love. Backed by a sweepingly cinematic production that still sounds instant enough to make it to radio, Sophia pretty much ticks all of the boxes on this three-minute pop feat, which comes ahead of her debut EP due out later this year.
“‘Ice Cream & Cigarettes’ was written at a time in my life when I was trying to distance myself from someone close to me. It was hard for me to separate from this person because they would bring me a temporary feeling of happiness. I knew the feeling would run out, and it was slowly killing me, but I was addicted to the happiness I felt when they were around.”
For more from Sophia Messa, check out “moneydontfixlonely” and “What Am I Gonna Do With You,” two equally intoxicating listens from this superstar in the making. Feel free to also follow her on Instagram. The girl has style for days.
Jess Grant is a frustrated writer hailing from London, England. When she isn't tasked with disentangling her thoughts from her brain and putting them on paper, Jess can generally be found listening to The Beatles, or cooking vegetarian food.