Rising pop-rock star KOTA! has shared her new single, ‘Eyes Wide Open,’ as she also drops her self-titled debut album. With her uncanny ability to tap into raw emotion – and her knack for genre-hopping – she might well be the artist we need in 2025.
New Mexico artist KOTA! has shared her latest single ‘Eyes Wide Open,’ as she kickstarts 2025 in all the right ways.
KOTA! announced herself to the wider world back in 2024, with a string of highly-charged singles, including ‘Dead Pretty,’ ‘Killin’ It’ and ‘Under My Spell.’ These songs offered a window into pop’s newest challenger – someone who could take everything from grunge to 80s synth-goth to futuristic pop, and fashion it into something new.
At the start of 2025, KOTA! dropped her debut album with the world. The 12-song album felt incredibly accomplished as a record – which is unsurprising considering that KOTA! worked with many first-rate producers and writers prior to making it.
‘Eyes Wide Open’ serves as the central track on the album, with KOTA! Revealing in a statement the sheer amount of thought that went into making the song. Speaking about the writing behind it, KOTA! said: “The story behind it is actually quite unique and poignant. It was written in the world famous Rockfield Studios in rural Wales, as part of the Pro7ect writing camp.” She said the song came following conversations among fellow writers about their life stories and the misadventures they’d experienced along the way. “The song came together as all of us in the room shared our own personal stories of the little turns of fate that led us to our true paths,” she said.
“We shared stories of travel mishaps, shows gone wrong, and all the twists and turns that life takes you through. By the end of the session, we had channeled so much of all of our emotions, stories, and passions into a song that I hope will be the soundtrack and anthem to those who listen!”
‘Eyes Wide Open’ is certainly anthemic. The song the kind of a authentic, earnest passion that is somewhat rare in music today; it sounds like a song written by an artist who’s prepared to say things with her full heart. In the song’s lyrics, KOTA! looks at her problems with clear eyes and a preparedness to better herself going forward: “Facing up to my mistakes,/Changing up is what it takes./My fate is set in motion,/And I’m facing up with eyes wide open…”
With this latest batch of songs, it feels like KOTA! has finally met her fate – and it’s good news for herself as an artist and for us as listeners. KOTA! is a winning album.
‘Eyes Wide Open’ was released on January 23rd, on the same day as she released her self-titled debut album. You can stream KOTA!’s songs here.
