Anilee List – “Static” [Song Review]

“Static,” the new single from singer-songwriter Anilee List, is her first original song since receiving national attention on American Idol and appearing in 2021’s Coda, the Oscar-winning film.

The first in a new collection of songs, “Static,” was created in collaboration with the prolific LA-based production team of Cary Singer and Matias Mora.

List’s last release, the 2022 single “Blue,” was her audition track for American Idol; after a standing ovation, singer Katy Perry praised List’s performance as “one of the most technically perfect vocals we’ve ever gotten.”

Immersed in music while growing up, at age seven, List wrote her first song, “A Beautiful World,” inspired by the impending climate crisis facing the world. She ended up performing the song at the Santa Monica chapter of the United Nations.

Since then, List has performed on such iconic stages as The Troubadour, the Hollywood Bowl, The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, The Dolby Theatre, and Carnegie Hall. In 2018, she was awarded the Berklee College of Music World Tour Scholarship; over the years, List has also been named a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts, a Youngarts Finalist, and a Jerry Herman award winner.

Anilee, photo by Alucina Photography

“Static” opens on jazzy tones laced with soul and pop flavors riding a funk-lite rhythm made up of cool sidestick percussion and a big, round, deep bassline. Ranging from soft, sweet melodicism, warm and satiny, to soaring, soulful timbres, List parades the mobility of her remarkable voice, beaming like a laser across the soundscape.

Structured around a breathable groove dripping with jazz flourishes, “Static” reveals the plummy sound of the voice of Anilee List.

Run Time: 3:15
Release Date: December 8, 2023
Record Label: Independent