Why NAO?
What makes NAO so unique?
The first thing you notice about NAO’s music is her voice. There’s a hint of helium in her tone, and it lends otherwise straightforward line readings a bit of strange delight: they’re hollow, buoyant, on the edge of slipping away. It’s an effect that makes love songs just a little bit more effervescent; when she’s working with edgier, more aggressive arrangements, she balances them out.
That voice is her ace in the hole, and it’s one she needs given the density of talent in her chosen genre. NAO is a young British person making forward-thinking R&B and soul, and the best way to define her is by relating her to all of the other young British people making the same kind of music. (They’re all working with the same guardian spirits: Prince the Father, Janet Jackson the Daughter, Aaliyah the Holy Spirit.)
Learn moreSongs
My favorite songs by NAO
Amazing Grace
‘Amazing Grace’ is about the fear of failure, realising that fear keeps you stuck but failing can allow you to fly. There are always blessings in the lessons.
Release
September 24, 2021
Lyrics
"Satellite, satellite I think I hear a message from you Kill
the lights, kill the lights Hoping there's a way it gets
through Been saying sorry all this time Am I forgiven in this
life? Waiting for you, waiting for you.
To save me from
falling, losing my way Nobody claim me, I might just stay here
'Til I hear the sound of rain on my face I'm dreaming you'll
save me from falling from grace Amazing grace..."
Another Lifetime
“Another Lifetime” is about the conflicting emotions that come after a relationship ends on good terms.
Release
June 13, 2018
Lyrics
"How I wish perfect was enough For my own heart Sometimes I
swear it was enough For my own heart.
I guess I'll wait
another lifetime, oh (ooh, ooh) Meet us in another lifetime,
oh (ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh) I guess I'll wait another lifetime
(ooh, ooh) 'Cause there I will stay, my darling I swear I
won't run from you..."
Bad Blood
“Bad Blood” is the first single from London singer-songwriter NAO’s debut album, For All We Know (2016).
Release
December 11, 2015
Lyrics
"You're a holiday A glass of ocean slipping down my throat And landing on my hopes, I'm dreaming Off the maps, no hidden grids, I'm fleeing I worship you like holy days Lying on my back, seeing clouds and rays Drinking lime and bitter from my lemonade White horses, maritime won't do..."