Sometimes, an artist appears not with a song, but with a soul laid bare and it stops you in your tracks. Meet Ariyel, a Colorado-based singer-songwriter whose music doesn’t simply play; but breathes, aches, and quietly holds your hand through the hardest parts of being human. Her latest single, “how to be loved,” as well as the lead track from her forthcoming concept album, doesn’t aim to decorate pain — it seeks to name it, hold it, and offer it back transformed. Born from the shadows of narcissistic abuse and the fragile rebuilding that follows, “how to be loved” asks the unspoken question many carry silently: “Is this what love is supposed to feel like?”
Ariyel’s voice is the centerpiece; delicate and firm in its fragility. She sings with aching grace, her classical training apparent in every note, but never showy or detached. Instead, her delivery is intimate, like a friend whispering a truth they’ve never said aloud before. Her layered harmonies drift through the track like thoughts swirling in a midnight mind — overlapping, echoing, unsure, but beautiful in their messiness.
The instrumentation is dream pop with an edge of reality; ethereal synths shimmer like distant stars, while subtle acoustic textures ground the song in earthy vulnerability. There’s a quiet restraint in the production that mirrors the emotional tightrope Ariyel walks lyrically. It’s minimal, spacious, reverent. Her voice and words breathe, and allowing you to sit with your emotional echoes.
What makes “how to be loved” so compelling is that it doesn’t try to resolve the pain. It doesn’t wrap the story up in a neat bow. Instead, Ariyel offers an open wound and invites you to witness its transformation. This song is less a scream than a long exhale — and in that breath, so many survivors will find themselves seen.
With this piece, Ariyel is not here to entertain. She’s here to tell the truth, beautifully and bravely. She’s here to remind us that recovery is art, and art can be a form of survival.
Listen to “how to be loved” on Spotify or SoundCloud
Follow Ariyel here for more information
