There’s a certain confidence that comes from artists who know exactly who they are. Nashville-based singer and songwriter Kelsey Blackstone doesn’t make music that chases trends or algorithms. Her songs feel lived-in — smoky, rich, and full of small human details that make them linger long after they end. On her new single “Glitter”, a collaboration with Philadelphia multi-instrumentalist poindexter, she taps into something soulful and immediate. It’s not just a groove; it’s a feeling.
The song opens with poindexter’s warm horn line curling over a bassline that moves slow and steady, like the rhythm of a late-night drive. Then Blackstone’s voice slides in, smooth but unhurried, sitting right in that sweet spot between control and emotion. It’s a sound that recalls the fluid ease of Raveena or Hiatus Kaiyote — sensual but grounded, jazzy without trying too hard.
“Glitter” feels like two friends rediscovering their chemistry. Blackstone and poindexter go back to 2018, when they first met at Berklee College of Music and bonded over a shared obsession with old jazz records. They started out playing standards before drifting into original material, writing together and performing whenever they could. After years of touring, life took them in different directions — Kelsey to Nashville, Aidan (poindexter) to Philadelphia — but their creative bond never really dissolved.
That history is baked into the song. There’s a sense of ease in the way they move around each other, like two people who don’t need to talk to understand what the other’s feeling. The production is minimal, leaving plenty of space for the conversation between voice and instrument to unfold. Every horn stab, every bass lick, every pause feels intentional.
Beneath all the shimmer, “Glitter” is about being present. About what happens when you stop trying to make sense of everything and just let the moment happen. It’s flirtatious, but it’s also reflective. There’s a tension in the way Blackstone sings, her voice dipping in and out of the pocket as if she’s teasing out the meaning of the feeling in real time. It’s the kind of performance that sounds effortless but reveals an artist deeply in control of her craft.
Blackstone’s evolution as a performer has been steady and organic. Over the past few years, she’s built her reputation one stage at a time, playing sold-out shows across the country and opening for acts like Lloyiso, Coral Moons, and Mom Rock. Her catalog — spanning soulful cuts, funk-inspired grooves, and retro-tinged pop — reflects an artist who understands that her voice is her anchor. Even when the production shifts, there’s always a throughline of warmth and honesty.
In that sense, “Glitter” feels like a culmination. It’s confident without being loud, intimate without being fragile. Where some R&B-inspired pop leans into overproduction, this one stays raw. You can hear the texture of the instruments, the breath in the vocals, the quiet imperfections that make it human. It’s the sound of musicians who still care about feel — who understand that groove isn’t something you build on a laptop, it’s something you find together.
Poindexter’s fingerprints are all over that groove. His background as a jazz-trained horn player gives the track its emotional backbone. You can hear it in the way he lets the brass swell gently around the vocal, in the restraint he shows when most producers would go bigger. The production never crowds the song. It moves like a slow exhale, guided by intuition rather than structure.
The result is something that feels both nostalgic and new — a song that lives somewhere between eras. It wouldn’t sound out of place on a mixtape between Sade and Steve Lacy, yet it also carries the storytelling clarity of a songwriter raised on Amy Winehouse and Erykah Badu. That balance is part of what makes Blackstone so compelling. She has an instinct for pulling from the past without getting stuck in it.
What makes “Glitter” resonate isn’t just the sound but the mood it creates. It captures the fleeting thrill of a connection — that electric space between attraction and reflection. There’s joy here, but it’s tinged with awareness. When Blackstone sings, you can hear her holding onto the feeling even as it slips away. The song’s title feels almost literal: beauty that sparkles brightest right before it fades.
As her second release of the year, “Glitter” signals a new chapter for Blackstone. It builds on the momentum of her previous single “Sway”, but it also feels more assured, more personal. There’s a subtle shift in tone, as if she’s letting us see a little more of the person behind the performer. With more releases on the horizon and a national headline tour lined up for November, she’s clearly entering a new phase — one that blurs the line between artist and storyteller.
At a time when so much pop and R&B feels engineered for virality, Blackstone’s approach stands out. She isn’t trying to sell you a hook; she’s inviting you into a space. Her songs ask you to listen, not just hear. That kind of intimacy can’t be manufactured. It comes from years of playing live, of learning how to hold a crowd with nothing but a microphone and a feeling.
“Glitter” feels like the sound of that growth — of an artist who’s learned that subtlety can hit harder than volume, that groove can tell a story on its own. There’s a quiet confidence in every note, a sense that both artists have stopped trying to impress and started to express. By the time the final notes fade out, you’re left with a lingering warmth. It’s not the kind that demands attention, but the kind that keeps you thinking about it hours later. “Glitter” doesn’t explode. It glows. And in that glow, Kelsey Blackstone and poindexter remind us that sometimes the most powerful moments are the ones that refuse to shout.
Featured Images: Artist Supplied
