On My Radar: Sienna Spiro – “Great Expectation”
Sometimes, a song catches your attention because of the way it sounds. Other times, you hear the story behind it and suddenly the song hits a little differently. That’s the case with Sienna Spiro’s “Great Expectation.”
Sienna Spiro is a 20-year-old British singer-songwriter who has been having a pretty incredible year. Her debut album, Visitor, has produced multiple charting songs, and she’s quickly become one of the most talked-about new voices in pop.
But for this week’s On My Radar, I wanted to focus on the story behind “Great Expectation.”
The song came from a period when Sienna was living in New York while opening for Sam Smith. She was talking to a guy who kept telling her he was going to come visit her. He never did.
But every morning, Sienna would walk out of her apartment and, for a moment, genuinely imagine that he might be standing there waiting for her. She’d spend the next few minutes imagining what she’d say, what they’d do, and what it would feel like if he actually showed up.
Eventually, she realized the song wasn’t really about him anymore.
It was about expectation… and how sometimes the version of someone that exists in your head can be more appealing than the person who actually exists in your life.
That’s what makes “Great Expectation” so interesting. It’s not your typical breakup song. She’s not necessarily mourning a relationship that ended. She’s mourning the possibility of what she wanted that relationship to be.
And musically, Sienna gives the song this beautiful, dramatic, almost vintage feel. Her soulful voice and old-school influences make it sound like something that could have come from another era, while the story is incredibly modern and relatable.
Because let’s be honest… who hasn’t fallen in love with the potential of something or someone… instead of what was actually there?
Sienna Spiro is already making a pretty big name for herself, but this is one song I think deserves a little extra attention. She’s officially On My Radar.
