The new single from Jenna Lotti, premiering today, is a perfect example of expectations versus reality. It feels similar to the Nicolas Winding Refn film, The Neon Demon: ethereal production clouds the story of a rising star. Shortly after Lotti wrote it, she herself would move here from Boston; in spite of that, “Hollywood” doesn’t exactly encourage tourism. Listen to it exclusively below.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”#FF78FF” class=”fistclass” size=”15″]”I wrote ‘Hollywood’ about 3 years ago when I was still living in Boston. I was imagining a young girl living in Hollywood and dealing with the pressures of fast success. The song is not about me at all but I was imagining what it might be like if I was there and happened to realize success quickly. It glamourizes something that’s not glamorous at all but despite knowing that I still wanted nothing more than to move here and experience it for myself.” – Jenna Lotti [/perfectpullquote]

Fame has lost its appeal. It is practically a commodity now, where, thanks to social media, everybody truly does get their fifteen minutes; if everyone gets to experience it, then people stop paying attention. There comes the fleeting celebrity’s folly: to become as well-known as stars in decades past, one must work harder. And desperation breeds misfortune, according to the trope. In the case of Lotti’s new song, fame poisons those who envy it so slowly that it’s normalized.

In reality, of course, everyone’s path to their dreams is different. The most exciting horror stories of today’s entertainment biz are fictional, including Refn’s witchy thriller. The demons that Lotti fights, however, are in the form of depression and anxiety, which turn out to be the most realistic foes in any story about Los Angeles. 

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