Settle for an unflinchingly honest, no-more-taking-your-BS, indie pop debut track from Hazelize, ‘DID YOU EVER’.

It’s a track that comes from a painful realization about being taken for granted by the one who you thought loved you. Or rather, learning finally that maybe it wasn’t love at all; it was just a response to the way you looked at them.

‘DID YOU EVER’ opens with introspective strings and somber atmospherics, setting the stage for a soulful outpouring. Hazelize’s vocals enter, pained and weary but also wearing a quiet strength and resilience.

“I watched your love the way you made me feel, Not me just the version that can fit your dream

And you held my hand like it was your to keep, But you never really held me, not really”

The lyrics paint a painful reflection of a kind of one-sided relationship. Where one’s love and presence is never really appreciated for what it is. Rather, it’s masked and responded to with just enough to keep you coming back for more. A total lack of sincerity and respect.

The verse unfolds gently, describing how it all fell apart. The bridge expresses how she set herself aside, avoiding her own needs, just to please. The chorus explodes to life with a cathartic expression of pain and agony. Finally, she questions, ‘Did you ever love me? Or the way I looked at you?”

‘DID YOU EVER’ is a track that will resonate deeply for anyone who’s been in a toxic relationship. Hazelize emphasizes just how crucial it is to walk away, with your head held high, from such a sinkhole of a dynamic.

We love how she ends the track with her saying, ‘Im walking away now,” followed by a good 30 seconds of soulful strums and echoing vocalizations, evoking imagery of someone who’s liberated from pain and on the path to healing and being her awesome self once more.

We love what we’ve heard from this debutant. Hazelize brings a fearless, empowering and freeing energy to her music and we look forward to her future releases.

Stream ‘Hazelize – DID YOU EVER?’ on Spotify here: