At first glance, “CROSSED” reads like a straightforward dance track—bright, rhythmic, built for movement. But beneath its polished pulse lies something more volatile. The new single from San Francisco–based artist Michellar is the sound of friction transformed into propulsion, a song born from anger, reshaped through perspective, and released as motion.
Written and composed by Michelle Bond and produced by Marius Alexandru, “CROSSED” began its life in a much quieter place. The track was initially conceived as a slower, more contemplative piece, sparked by a moment of intense personal conflict surrounding a creative project. Rather than linger in restraint, Michellar chose acceleration—reworking the song into a high-energy dance anthem that channels emotional tension into forward momentum. It’s a familiar impulse in pop history: turning discomfort into something communal, something that moves.
Musically, “CROSSED” carries a subtle Latin influence, nodding to the melodic warmth and rhythmic lift associated with artists like Gloria Estefan, without slipping into nostalgia. The percussion is clean and insistent, the groove buoyant but controlled, allowing the track to breathe even as it pushes ahead. Alexandru’s production avoids excess, favoring clarity over maximalism, and leaving room for the emotional intent to register.
What makes “CROSSED” particularly compelling is its process. The song is the product of a truly global collaboration: vocal demos recorded in San Francisco, final vocals performed by Lillian in Ukraine under Michellar’s direction, and production polished in Romania. Rather than feeling fragmented, the track feels unified—an example of how distance can sharpen focus rather than dilute it. In an era where remote collaboration is commonplace, “CROSSED” stands out for how intentionally that process is woven into the music’s identity.
Michellar’s late-career creative resurgence adds another layer of weight to the release. Having written songs from the age of 15 before stepping away from music for nearly four decades, her return was catalyzed by an unexpected acceptance into the de Young Museum Open Call Exhibition in 2023. Since then, she has released an astonishing 22 singles in nine months, a pace that speaks less to trend-chasing and more to urgency—an artist making up for lost time, unburdened by the need to explain herself.
As her final release of the year, “CROSSED” functions as both punctuation and bridge. It doesn’t resolve every emotion that led to its creation, but it doesn’t need to. Instead, it reframes conflict as fuel, inviting listeners to dance through the residue of the year and step into the next with recalibrated energy.
“Nothing is set in stone until it is on fire,” Michellar says of the track. On “CROSSED,” that fire doesn’t burn—it moves.
Featured Image: Artist Supplied
