With all the grand ambition of an ultra-catchy chorus, Nicolette & The Nobodies want us to know this isn’t their first or last “Rodeo.” But it is their debut single.
The Ontario-based barroom country band, led by Vietnamese-Canadian frontwoman Nicolette Hoang, delivers the sterling bop to the streams today (August 24) via ArtHaus, and there’s enough infectious pop polish riding shotgun with the twang to appeal far beyond the usual country borders. The poignant n’ punchy track dropped with a video directed by Sarafina Bortolon-Vettor that outlines the group’s origins at a karaoke night a decade ago.
“‘Rodeo’ is about when you’re struggling to sit in the feeling of where you are,” says Hoang. “It’s a little bit of suffering in silence. You want to be better than ever right now, but under the surface you’re struggling with your vulnerability. I have a tendency to be practical and try to skip the part where I have to recognize and process the emotional part of relationships. Which we all know doesn’t really work. ‘Rodeo’ is me telling myself I got this, while the other voice is saying oh I really don’t — and I suppose both can exist at the same time.”
Like a first and a last.