Houston born singer-songwriter Alaina Castillo has dropped her first single, the addictive “stfu (i got u)”, off her upcoming debut album-scheduled for Q3 2021. The song is her cheeky take on the dynamics of a young relationship. Alaina coyly teases “you could never stay away / got you craving me all day / i got you babe” to a love interest who they both know isn’t planning on leaving or won’t be phased by her words. Arriving just in time for Cupid’s favorite holiday, Alaina used her huge TikTok following to help fans reel in their crush by sharing their stories of young love and broken hearts. Simultaneously with the official music video premiere on YouTube’s red carpet, Alaina hosted a hotline for fans to call in to share their thoughts and relationship stories. The “stfu (i got you)” visual, directed by The Reggies (Young Thug, Trippie Redd, Father, Abra, Butch Walker, etc.), finds the leather clad e-girl in her cybersweet virtual bedroom, turning to a webcam to play out a gamer’s fantasy. On the single Alaina says, “i’ve always been that quiet person that thought it was better to be silent than to put myself out there so “stfu (i got u)” is the confidence of who i was always too shy to be.”
Alaina is coming off a breakout year that propelled her name into the head of the 2021 class. Named Spotify’s first ever US RADAR artist, Billboard’s Latin Artist to Watch, and a spot on NME Essential Emerging Artist list, she has so far racked up over 120M audio and video streams, nearly 2M followers in less than a year on Tik Tok, 3M across all socials, performed at the Global Citizen “Together At Home” streaming event and MTV’s “Alone Together” live stream. Alaina showcased her prolific songwriting abilities in both English and Spanish with her 2019 debut EP Antisocial Butterfly featuring “i don’t think i love you anymore.” Her 2020 EP the voicenotes features standout single “just a boy,” leading to press praise from Rolling Stone, NME, Independent, DIY and many more. Last week, she performed for Sundance Film Festival’s official 2021 music event, Sound & Vision.
Born in Houston to a tight knit religious family, Alaina was drawn to music, art, and sports at an early age but kept her true passion for music under wraps as her parents wish was for her to focus on academia. As a young teen, she naturally began to question her surroundings and turned to her diary for escape, fantasy and inspiration. Sharpening her writing skills in both languages, Castillo eventually found a new uninhibited sense of freedom when moving to Austin for college and started putting music up on the internet, unbeknownst to her family. She gained notice by flipping popular English pop songs into Spanish, and eventually putting her own music online, leading to a move to Los Angeles to work with Grammy Nominated producer, ROMANS. In just a few years, Alaina has built a Gen Z cult following on TikTok and YouTube and is quickly becoming one of America’s next big forces of pop. More exciting news to announce soon!
LISTEN TO “STFU (I GOT YOU)”
