It's been a minute since we've heard from Tea Kittagucci, but thankfully that's all about to change. The Toronto singer, now officially going by the moniker, TEA, is finally poised to drop fresh material and make a statement in 2019. In the lead up to her first full-length release in three years, Popsicle, the colourful pop artist is blessing fans with a moody new single. "Like Glue", which we're premiering today, is a cool glimpse at TEA's neon-tinged world, a product of hibernation during cold winter months.
Speaking to Complex CA over email, TEA explains that the track is a bit of a metaphor, and she's hoping it sets the tone for the reaminder of the year. "I’ve known for a while who I am, and what I want to represent," she begins. "The hard part is getting the message out there. I thought, if 2019 is gonna be my 'foot in the door' year... I wanna start by showing a little taste of who I am — an eclectic mixup of pop music and a glue gun."
Aside from the single, and her Popsicle mixtape due out tomorrow, TEA is letting everyone know that she has more heat in the vault. "I have a lot more music and projects in store for the rest of the year, so I wanted my first mixtape to be really simple, easy-to-digest, fun... and honestly just not that deep. Most of the songs come with bizarre back stories of crushing over Star Wars characters & pretending to be in The Office."
The young singer also acknowledges the titular simiarities between her track and the iconic dancehall anthem by Sean Paul. In fact, despite being polar opposites sonically, TEA's version takes spiritual inspiration from the 2002 hit. “'Like Glue' is simple as well, but a little more melancholy than the rest. It was written from inspiration of experiencing Hikikomori with a significant other (Japanese saying for a psychological disorder of becoming a severe recluse). I think I also wanted to write my own, bizarre tribute to one of my childhood hero’s Sean Paul by making a song called 'Like Glue'. It doesn’t make sense... but I guess welcome to my world."
You can listen to "Like Glue" below via SoundCloud, and be sure to save Popsicle when it drops on streaming platforms tomorrow.
