SIENNA SPIRO: The Art of Stubborn Love
- Sorraya Gonzales
- Feb 6
- 2 min read
Updated: 1 hour ago
By: Sorraya Gonzalez
The feeling of loving someone you shouldn't is a timeless story. From first listen, SIENNA SPIRO articulates the ache of unrequited love. With emotional vocals and soft piano chords, her lyrics resonate with longing for a person who isn't there. At just 20 years old, she fully depicts heartbreak in the music video for her track "Die on the Hill."
With a combination of soul, jazz, and pop, SPRIO brings somber emotion to her newly released video. Shot in full black and white—a choice that reminds me of the Adele ballads Spiro grew up listening to—the video shows her sitting in a room with a blank figure. It's a metaphor for wanting someone who isn't present physically or emotionally, and it translates powerfully on screen as Spiro sits across from them.
As the song builds toward its devastating finale, she's surrounded by shredded fabric and tufts of cotton, the physical remnants of a relationship that was never really there.
Spiro describes this as "stubborn love—the kind that makes you stay when you know you should leave." The music video presents a visual representation of the illusion the wrong kind of love can bring. Not only do Spiro's vocals shine in the notes she hits, but the moving shots between her and the figure in front display how young love can be hurtful.
The British singer emulates pop icons that influence her—her eyeliner channels Amy Winehouse, her powerful vocals echo Etta James, and she incorporates R&B elements of Frank Ocean. It's an emotional form of storytelling that depicts heartbreak in a timeless manner.
As the music video crescendos during the song's emotional bridge with lyrics of:
"I know nothing could matter / God, I wish something mattered to you",
You can see the passion behind the project. The sparse piano chords have each note hanging in the air just long enough to make space for Spiro's voice to crack with vulnerability. The piano chords bring a familiar texture to the astounding vocals, which provide enough balance to not overshadow her.
Music video director Cole Bennett admits he was new to the world of such emotional pop ballads, but it was Spiro's talent that drew him in. He recalls hearing the track weeks before its release and being completely blown away. The friendship that developed between them allowed Bennett to understand how Spiro wanted her art communicated to the world.
It's the pop ballad of Spiro that proves the future of music resonates with elements of the past: a great voice, heartbreak, and a soft ballad. Stubborn love brings heartbreak to the limelight, and her vocals even earn applause in live performances like her appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, which truly displays her raw vocal talent.
