From the moment Nardia‘ s voice floats in on “Is It You,” there’s a weightlessness to it—like standing at the edge of a feeling you can’t name yet. It’s not just the sultry mix of blues, soul, and R&B that grabs you. It’s the way she sings like she’s not sure if she’s about to fall in love or fall apart. That emotional friction is what gives “Is It You” its magnetic pull.
The Melbourne-based artist has been quietly leveling up for years, performing alongside legends like Russell Morris and Tex Perkins and gracing VIP stages during Beyoncé and Adele’s Australian tours. But her Top 5 finish at the 2025 International Blues Challenge in Memphis—where she stood out as the only female in a field of 400 bands—signals more than recognition. It’s a warning shot to the industry: Nardia’s not emerging. She’s arrived.
“Is It You,” the first single off her upcoming album Own Every Scar, doesn’t offer tidy answers. Instead, it lingers in that beautifully complicated emotional space we all know too well—the early days of connection, when attraction and uncertainty swirl into something both electric and unsteady. It’s a song about asking the question we’re often too scared to say out loud: Is this real, or am I projecting something I desperately want to see?
The stripped-back production works in her favor. It leaves her vocals exposed, unprotected—vulnerable in the best way. It’s that vulnerability that makes the song hit harder. She’s not showing off. She’s showing up.
In her latest interview, Nardia confirms the song came from “a really vulnerable place,” describing it as a reflection on love’s ambiguity. “It’s both a question and a statement,” she says. “You want answers, but you also know some things just have to unfold.”
The accompanying music video, directed by Matthew Kelley, leans into that dreamy, uncertain vibe. Set in a nostalgic diner glowing with neon, the clip slips between fantasy and reality like memory itself. Was it really him—or just a beautiful illusion? The blurred lines reflect the very nature of the track. Even visually, “Is It You” refuses to make things easy.
And that’s exactly why it works.
Raised on the blues thanks to her father, a guitarist, and steeped in the tradition of soul and jazz through her multicultural family, Nardia’s influences read like a who’s who of emotional truth-tellers—Etta James, Aretha, Ray Charles, Eva Cassidy.
For all the polish and power, what makes Nardia stand out in a crowded R&B landscape is her humanity. You get the sense she’s not interested in being perfect. She’s interested in being real. That means exposing the scar tissue. That means telling the truth, even when it trembles.
“Stay true to yourself, even when the road feels uncertain,” she says, and you believe her. Because you’ve just heard her live it—note by note—in “Is It You.”
