Music analysis: Natanya - A feline’s rise to stardom
To make noise in the oversaturated music industry, an artist has to bring something unique and fresh to the table.
One artist who has demonstrated this is Natanya, a singer-songwriter from London who is defining a new pop sound, writes Music News Blitz’s Brianna Ngambi.
Who is Natanya?
Natanya began releasing music in 2019, rising up in the UK scene, which eventually led to her opening for Flo in 2023.
At this point in time, these acts were both upcoming artists in the UK RnB scene, and by performing on the same stage, they cemented that they are working to become the next big things in mainstream pop culture.
Genre-defying across the board
Just like Flo, Natanya has credited an array of musical influences from the 80s to 00s, which have inspired her and the music she releases.
In an interview with Wonderland magazine, Natanya states that she listens “to anything from Sza to Tyler, the Creator to the Cocteau Twins to Stevie Wonder.”
This genre-defying attitude towards music may have led to the connection between Natanya and Ravyn Lenae, another artist who prides herself on her range of musical inspirations and not wanting to be pigeonholed into a single genre.
In 2025, Natanya went on to open for Ravyn Lenae on the UK leg of her tour, where she was able to display her talent for an audience that would understand her sound.
As well as Ravyn Lenae, she also opened for PinkPantheress, another huge UK star, who is known for her production, which often interpolates and extracts samples from the 00s and 90s of any genre.
It is clear that her fellow genre-bending artists are recognising her talent and wanting their audiences to pay attention to her too.
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Feline leaves the underground scene
2025 was a big year for Natanya, with her releasing Feline’s Return, her debut album.
This project is a perfect introduction to Natanya, showcasing her pitch-perfect, airy vocals with 80s pop-infused instrumentals as well as alternative RnB production.
Near the end of 2025, 3 particular songs on the album began receiving more traction: “Meeting You Once (The End),” “Sofa Joy,” and “On Ur Time.”
All of these tracks are a blend of majority Pop and RnB with other musical influences.
A writer for Varsity Magazine called Natanya an artist who “dissolves the borders” between genres, which is proven in all those tracks.
The songs are also very reminiscent of Janet Jackson.
In the music video of “Meeting You Once,” the Jackson inspiration continues as she references Michael Jackson’s music video “Rock with You.”
This increased traction has also led to individuals in the music industry recognising her, with Bjork playing “On Ur Time” within her DJ set and Tyler, the Creator reposting one of her singles this year, “Candyland.”
It has become certain that Natanya will soon be a star that we will all be talking about.
With 2025 ending on such a high note, 2026 was truly the year to expose her talents to the newfound audience she had amassed.
She began the year by releasing “Don't Ask,” which she describes as an “anthem about girl power, agency and refusing to wait for permission” in an interview with Clash Music.
The instrumental, with the synths and bass, gives it an anthem feel, and the interpolation of “Green Light” by Beyonce supports this, with that track being rock-inspired, with a very brassy instrumental adding to the anthem feel.
Natanya went on to release “Candyland” in June, with a synth-heavy instrumental and her Janet Jackson-esque vocals.
But unfortunately, it came into controversy with its music video and the use of AI, which Natanya claims she was unaware of and is not in support of.
Despite it being a great song, it was overshadowed by the drama surrounding it, but this did not suppress Natanya’s ambition this year.
At the end of July, she released “Play with a kiss,” a 90s pop-infused track with new jack swing elements, and it is reminiscent of Mariah Carey and Janet once again.
The music video is in black and white, giving it a 60s feel and features an outdoor cinema that announces the beginning of the “Attitude Era,” which might be the title of the next album.
Pink Pantheress also features in the music video as the voice that announces the picture is over early, which is a nice callback to one of the milestones in her career.
Natanya is now going on to perform at All Points East on August 29 with Tyler, the Creator as the headliner, who has shown her support before.
This performance came at a perfect time as she will be able to broaden her audience further and lead to even more success.
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