Melbourne soul powerhouse WILSN has dropped one final track before her new album Bloom lands on 17 October, and it’s a spicy one. The new single, Big Star, is a playful, tongue-in-cheek dig at an ex who thought he was rock’n’roll royalty – even while still living at home, driving Dad’s car and getting dinner made for him.
“It’s about someone obsessed with being seen as a rockstar, but in reality, they’re just coasting,” WILSN laughs. “The lyrics are a little savage, but I think a lot of people will relate.”
WILSN wrote Big Star with longtime guitarist Steven Veale, the idea for the melody hitting her mid-flight to a gig. “The whole thing came together above the clouds. It just clicked.”
Recorded in Brooklyn with producers Stephen Mowat and Billy Aukstik, the track pulls from the fire of New York’s soul scene, with musicians from Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Thee Sacred Souls, Charles Bradley and Jalen Ngonda’s bands helping bring it to life.
WATCH: WILSN – Big Star
WILSN has already been making waves with singles The Way, Keep Walkin’ and GIRL – tracks that have exploded across TikTok and Instagram, racking up millions of views. Add support from triple j, Double J, BBC Radio and major playlists on Apple Music and Spotify, and WILSN is quickly becoming one of Australia’s brightest new voices in soul.
Bloom sees her dive headfirst into the spirit of late-60s soul while keeping it fresh for right now. The record promises to show WILSN at her boldest yet, ready to step fully into the spotlight.
Originally from Geelong, WILSN has put in the hard yards – from studying jazz in Melbourne to writing in the US with Grammy-winning songwriters, touring Europe with The Teskey Brothers, and sharing stages with Jimmy Barnes, Budjerah and Allen Stone. Her 2023 debut Those Days Are Over picked up an AIR Award and an AMP nomination, and earlier this year she scored the Vanda and Young Song Competition for a song written with Jessica Mauboy and Jason Derulo.
WILSN – Big Star
Out now via Mushroom Music
WILSN – Bloom
Out Friday 17 October via Mushroom Music
Tracklist:
The Way
Keep Walkin’
Bloom
Big Star
GIRL
If You Want My Love
Waiting For You
Weightless
Our Love
When Will Love Come My Way
6 Feet Deep
Miss You
Without You
Love You I Do
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