Artist Samantha Leah On Appreciating Her Rising Success And Haunting New Single ‘Smile’

Calling all mystics and misfits!

Alternative dark pop shouldn’t just be played during Halloween, it’s perfect all year long! This is evident by music artist Samantha Leah, whose eerie and expressive songs have garnered millions of streams.

We had the absolute pleasure of speaking with Samantha on fall transformation, ‘FuNhOuSe’, and more!

Congratulations on your newest single & video ‘Smile’! Can you walk us through the song’s meaning and how it came to be?

S: “Thank you so much! “Smile” is about the contrast between what we feel on the inside and what we show to the world. Many of us have been trained to wear a smile, even when that smile doesn’t reflect what’s truly happening within us. This song captures the tension and chaos behind that mask. It came to life during a really rough moment. I was staring at myself in the mirror, in the midst of an emotional breakdown, when I started singing the first verse, “Pretty please, this is an emergency. I’m afraid that I’m going mad.” From there, the song continued to write itself.”

This song is absolutely perfect for the spooky season! As Halloween nears, what are some of your traditions for this holiday?

S: “Yes! Oh, how I love this season. I often use it as a time for reflection. Many of the rituals I do around Halloween are focused on transformation. Growing up, those of us who love Halloween have always loved it for many reasons, one of them being that we get to become something else for a day. That’s the general feeling I focus on when I’m reflecting and writing out my intentions around this time: transformation. Remembering that we can step into a new version of ourselves once we let go of patterns, behaviors, ways of thinking, and maybe even people that are no longer in alignment with who we are becoming. I like to do burn ceremonies around this time where I write down the things I am letting go of, burn them, and then write down what I’m calling in on a fresh new piece of paper.”

We are obsessed with this circus-themed music video! What was the filming process like for this shoot?

S: “Thank you! I love my circus themes. 🙂 This was actually a very simple shoot, and a lot of it wasn’t overly planned. Many of my shoots come together very naturally in interesting ways. For instance, when I was working on the song months before the shoot, I found a marionette doll and purchased it, feeling like I might be able to use it for the video.

When the shoot got closer, I started figuring out how I wanted to do my makeup and what I wanted to wear. I made a connection between myself and the doll when I realized I wanted to do my makeup like a clown.
I thought the perfect way to use the doll would be to make it look like I’d won it at the carnival and have its presence bring me comfort. The visual then became centered around the concept of feeling very alone in the world as a misfit, and finding solace in this doll because we’re both clowns who don’t quite fit in. The process of shooting was very seamless. It was just me and my videographer friend, and we went around to different spots in the carnival to bring the story to life!”

If you could collaborate with any fellow artist for the ultimate shadowy hit, who would you pick?

S: “Sub Urban for sure.”

This might be hard, but which one of your released songs would you say represents you as an artist the best?

S: “Wow, that’s such a great question and it IS a hard one to answer! I love it, though, because I really see each of my releases as a milestone in my life. When I listen back through the years, I can hear the moments where I started becoming more confident in who I am and in exploring the sounds I’ve always been drawn to.

As of today, I’d say my song ‘FuNhOuSe’ represents me the best as an artist. It’s spooky, theatrical, and carnivalesque (all the things I love) but the lyrics also carry a lot of meaning for me. There are two main layers to the song. On the surface, it’s a dark carnival-themed track that’s fun and whimsical – something that people of all ages, even kids, have connected with. But underneath that, the lyrics speak to the illusions and chaos of the world we live in: the manipulation, confusion, and distortion that often come from forces much bigger than us. It’s about staying awake within that “funhouse,” learning to see things for what they are, and finding your balance through it all. Because I love both the instrumental and the lyrical symbolism so much, ‘FuNhOuSe’ feels like the truest reflection of who I am right now as an artist.”

Your music has amassed over 10 million streams on just Spotify alone! What has been your reaction to your growing success?

S: “I’m not going to lie, my reaction to my growing success has mostly been, “Well, what can I do
now to get to the next milestone?” I think I need to take a few steps back and appreciate where I
am a lot more often. I know many people can resonate with that feeling. I just really want to take
more time to be present where I am.

When so much of what we do (marketing, releasing, connecting) happens through social media, it’s easy to forget that there are real people on the other side having real, visceral reactions to our music. I want to take more moments to tap into that awareness and be grateful for what I already have. Of course, I’m always excited to connect with new listeners who resonate with my sound, but I also want to honor where I am now and recognize how hard it was to get here. For a long time, I really had to trust that something would eventually work out, even when it wasn’t looking so great.

When I really sit and think about it, I realize that this journey is amazing. It still blows my mind that people make videos to my songs and message me telling me that my music has changed their lives forever. I’m not sure there will ever be a moment where that becomes ‘normal’ to me. It will always be such a magical thing.”

Make sure to stream “Smile”, available now on all music platforms!

Je’Kayla Crawford– Founder and Director– Je’Kayla has been a journalist for years and decided to start a publication of her own, New Scene Magazine, back in October 2020. When not helping her team and working on their print issues, you can find her watching a movie on Netflix or baking using a viral TikTok recipe.