ZØYA releases brand new record

Rising as one of the most exciting new voices in indie music, ZØYA has been making an impact with her honest songwriting and engaging sound. With her raspy, soulful vocals and emotionally charged songwriting, the Belarus-born, USA-raised artist turns personal struggle into powerful storytelling; her music distils a fusion of pain, faith and empowerment, striking a chord with listeners across genres and generations.

Born Zoya Naumchik in Pinsk, Belarus, ZØYA moved to Columbus, Ohio, at age eleven, where she grew up surrounded by the sounds of worship, gospel and jazz. Music quickly became both an outlet and a calling and she started writing songs and poems at six while receiving formal vocal training at the Columbus International Children’s Choir Academy, alongside classical piano studies. By thirteen, she’d already recorded her first worship album, Shalom, followed by Gratitude at fifteen, both collections of Russian worship songs reimagined through her own heartfelt delivery.

ZØYA’s voice has always carried a sense of conviction that extended beyond music, passionate about social issues like immigration, poverty, education and human trafficking, she’s worked with organisations including the Fight For Children Foundation and even interned at the US House of Representatives. Though faith is a constant in her life, she resists being boxed into the Christian genre, instead framing her work around universal messages of love, determination and hope. “I want to share my story with everyone,” she says and that mission has become the core of her art.

Her breakout moment came with “So Far Away,” a song that exploded on TikTok and caught the attention of global brands like Dove, Benefit Cosmetics and Jay Shetty’s mindfulness platform. The momentum only grew as she advanced through American Idol Season 17 and earned semi-finalist placements in both the Unsigned Only Music Competition and American Songwriter contest. With acclaimed EPs Veracious Heart and Journey, ZØYA has since headlined sold-out shows across both sides of the Atlantic, performing in London, New York and Los Angeles while playing alongside acts like DNCE and Third Eye Blind.

Now she brings us her most ambitious release to date with her brand new eight-track EP titled Alone, But Not Lonely, a release that redefines solitude as a space of healing and self-discovery. Across its emotional arc, she examines what it means to find peace within yourself while letting go of what no longer serves you all captured in her infectious alternative pop sound wrapped in slick arrangements and capped by her sensational vocal work.

Jumping in with “It’s Alright,” ZØYA serves up an optimistic anthem about seeking hope in the face of turmoil. Built on crisp percussive grooves and pulsing bass lines dashed with shimmering synth textures and intricate guitar rhythms, her voice soars above to deliver instantly catchy vocal hooks, resulting in a memorable and empowering outing that’s truly impossible not to love. “Who Do You Think You Are?” follows with a smokey aesthetic of softly plodding bass synth notes and hushed vocals as the laid back patter of drums sets the track in motion to offer an emotive slice of emotive downtempo pop music.

“Is It Real Now?” glides with elegant piano notes and aching vocal leads to form a brief and thoroughly moving stripped back interlude on the record. With “I’m Good,” the muted plucks of guitar ushers in her silky vocal lines as she spins storytelling lyricism to craft a gripping outing that frames themes of defiance and self-worth in a gritty rock-tinged experience. “On My Own” drifts with sweeping synth lines and hurried rhythmic energy, landing as a lively and intoxicating synth pop jam packed full of danceable energy and euphoric aesthetic.

On “If You’re Ever Alone,” she casts a dreamy ballad of soothing piano notes and tender vocal performance, gradually swelling with punching beats, pulsing synths and impassioned vocals. “So Many Reasons” brings quivering vocal lines and minimal arrangement to take listeners on an absorbing and highly affecting musical voyage. Closing the release with “Back In Place,” she leans into a soulful R&B scene with stunning vocal layers gliding over a charming backdrop of warm piano and mellow percussion. With Alone, But Not Lonely, ZØYA turns loneliness into empowerment, crafting a body of work that feels at once profoundly personal and widely relatable while delivering an incredible listening experience in the process.

Listen to Alone, But Not Lonely below