Teenage Dream

posted in: Artist Features • Pop

Ria Eaton may be young, but she’s got an old soul and an impressive resume to boot. The Billerica, MA, singer has performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, battled bands at the Hard Rock Café and emerged victorious, and voiced an animated altruistic rocker named Vita for the Fablevision series, Zebrafish. Not too shabby for a sixteen-year-old. Like a pubescent Duffy, Ria brings a Motown edge to her pop songs. Almost all of her material deals with the same themes”broken hearts, shattered teenage dreams. Maybe it’s a little melodramatic, but it’s charming, too. Suddenly is a ballad steeped in vintage soul, with Ria’s powerful voice effortlessly skimming the scales. That voice is the engine behind piano pop ballads like Look What You’ve Done and Ultra Blue, propelling them forward with force. On the later Ria sings, I gave my heart to you / Gave you everything I had / It’s all that I can do / That’s why I’m ultra blue. Not the most sophisticated expression of heartache, but it’s kind of nice to remember what it was like to navigate those old emotions for the first time, when life was much simpler. And in that regard, Ria’s music is ageless.

“Suddenly” – Ria Eaton