Single reviewsThe Other Side Reviews

Lorraine Bautista – Had It All (2021)

While people overcome heartbreak from a breakup all the time, the pain can linger in our memories. Lorraine Bautista is taking listeners back into these memories with the soulful tones of ‘Had It All’. Through the single, she helps listeners work through this pain and find the comfort they need to look back on a past relationship and see the good times without a tinge of pain.

This acoustic offering from the RnB and soul singer is her first official release. As a debut track, it really stakes a claim with the touches of different emotions that make it unbelievably relatable. While she has been creating music from a young age, it was after graduating from university that she started performing at clubs and was part of the 2019 Holiday Benefit Concert with Rory Seldon.



The gentleness of the piano line that opens ‘Had It All’ really sets the tone for the single. The stripped-back feeling of the melody enhances the pain-filled vocals while putting you in a nostalgic mood. The strings that sweetly call from the depths of the single adding to the bittersweet emotion of the track. The combination of the stark piano line and the cushioning of the strings is so touching that you can’t help but feel the emotions of the single stir in your chest.

The stripped-back melody lets the power of Bautista’s vocals shine. Her performance is packed with emotion that vibrates in your chest and dredges up your own pain from past relationships. The lyrics work through what she feels about the breakdown of the relationship and lets out everything you might wish to say. There is a lot to relate to in the lyrics while her voice moves from pain to unrealised potential and finally acceptance that what could have been is gone.

Lorraine Bautista uses a stripped-back melody and powerful vocals to tug at your heart and fill you with bittersweet emotions in ‘Had It All’. The relative minimalism of the melody let the vocals shine as she infuses vulnerability, pain and acceptance into each word. As a debut single, it offers amazing insight into what she can do and gets you excited for what is still to come.

Find out more about Lorraine Bautista on her Instagram and Spotify.

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