Puerto Rican and Jamaican artist Amanda Brown has been carving out a space for herself as one of the most interesting voices in music today. With a career that has already seen her tour the world alongside legends like Alicia Keys and Adele, Amanda has shown time and time again that her talent, stage presence, and songwriting skills make her impossible to ignore.
Her debut album, “Dirty Water” (2018), was a strong introduction, one that left critics and fans eager for more. She followed it with the EP “From Here” in 2022, showing she was more than a one-hit wonder artist. Thanks to this, collaborations with artists including Tyler, the Creator and Hozier followed, allowing her to continue building music that defies all expectations.
Now, Amanda returns with her latest single, “Innocence.” The track is built around an acoustic guitar, creating an intimate foundation. As the song develops, layers are added carefully, pulling you deeper into its emotional core. Her voice is commanding yet vulnerable, carrying the weight of the lyrics with an intensity that is hard to shake. The interplay between her lead and background vocals creates a tension that feels both haunting and deeply human.
Amanda’s delivery cuts straight through, hitting on a feeling many can relate to: the loss of something pure that can never fully be reclaimed. The song grows into a whirlwind of sound and emotion, but it never loses its center. Every choice, from the arrangement to the vocal dynamics, pushes the song forward and makes its message linger long after the music fades.
The inspiration behind “Innocence” comes from Amanda’s personal reflections. She wrote the song with Dan Sadin in Southern California, pulling from her own experiences growing up in a Christian household. She recalls the mix of fear, trauma, peer pressure, and indoctrination that shaped her relationship with faith during her childhood. While she acknowledges there were positive aspects to being part of a religious community, she makes it clear that this song is about questioning what it means to be a child introduced to concepts like heaven, hell, and eternal judgment at such an early age.
“In my quest to make sense of my upbringing, my adolescent feelings, and my connection to ‘god’ (which for me looks completely different now than it did when I was a child), this song was born,” Amanda explains. “I still have many questions, but thankfully, I’m no longer afraid to ask them.”
With “Innocence,” Amanda has created a piece of music that reflects her journey, her doubts, and her growth. It is a song that challenges listeners to reconsider the beliefs and ideas they were raised with, exploring childhood wonder, fear, and the search for understanding, while offering the kind of honesty only an artist of her calibre can bring.
