Willow Smith's New Feminist Single Is A Long Way From Her 'Whip My Hair' Days

Last week, Willow Smith celebrated the seventh, yes seventh, anniversary of the release of her debut single 'Whip My Hair', which peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the then-10-year-old.

So, to celebrate another milestone occasion in the teenager's life - she turns 17-years-old tomorrow (31 October) - the singer has released a new single from her upcoming album The 1st, and it's more than we ever expected from the child star.

Over the weekend, the Californian-born singer released her single 'Romance' which, from the sounds of it, is a feminist call-out for an equal society of happy co-existence between men and women.

With folk influences and vocals that remind of us of the likes of Florence Welsh, The XX's Romy Madley Croft and Lana Del Rey, Smith sings to an acoustic guitar to showcase her pitch range and rich vocalss.

Lyrics from the track include: 'I'm imagining a different history / Where man and women stay equal / In the eyes of society / Where we don't condemn different people / For exercising their freedom / We're sexist, I cried in an act of divine love'.

However, this isn't the first time Smith has used her voice to speak up about her dreams for the future when it comes to the place of women in society.

Last year, Smith spoke of her feminist ideals with Amandla Stenberg for Dazed magazine, revealing: 'It's rough, especially for girls on social media, because we're sexualised so much it's like, "Wow, when are we – and other people – going to see ourselves as people and not objects?"'

The singer's new album - out tomorrow - comes on the back of her self-produced EP Mellifluous last year with songs described as 'transcendental lullabies'.

Welcome to the new Willow Smith, people.

Listen to 'Romance' below:

Katie O'Malley

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Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.