Oslo artist JOA returns with “Even If It’s a Lie” (out 19 Sept 2025). It’s an upbeat, dance-now-think-later pop cut that hides a relationship gut-check in plain sight, perhaps her most hook-forward release since “Lose You.”
“Even If It’s a Lie” takes the feeling you try not to admit; the moment you can see someone’s feelings fading, and puts it over a bright, pulsing arrangement.
JOA leans into that contradiction on purpose, explaining that the song is about the delusions love can spark and the messy ways we try to win someone back, even picking fights just to feel something again.
The production keeps things buoyant with crisp drums, rubbery bass, and synths that lift the chorus without weighing it down.
JOA’s vocal sits clean and direct; when she lands on the title phrase, it stings a little, even as the groove keeps moving.
The “dance while you’re hurting” energy fits the intent; she wanted it upbeat and energetic to catch the anger and desperation, and it does.
As a next step, it reads like a progression from “Lose You” (June 13, 2025); same diaristic candour, bigger sprint.
While her previous single, ‘Lose You,’ used a stripped-back frame to sit with doubt, this time she turns the lights up and moves.
She’s also teeing up a wider body of work: “Even If It’s a Lie” arrives as the first track from the upcoming project Feelings You Don’t Say Out Loud, which she frames as a place for hard truths people usually swallow.
You might also like:
- JOA – “Lose You” — indie-pop candour about holding on when you’re unsure
- Chappell Roan – “The Subway” — public heartbreak turned into a sing-through-the-pain moment
- Sabrina Carpenter – “Go Go Juice” — flirty, late-night impulse with a sting under the smile
- Ava Della Pietra – “Single For Life” — glossy pop bounce with clear-eyed feelings
- Diane Emerita – “Hold Me Like A Pearl” — shoreline imagery and one-sided longing over a gentle pulse
- Demi Lovato – “Fast” — everything racing on the surface while the emotions catch up