Rising alternative-pop artist Zëta Ræ has returned with “Obvious,” a shimmering, high-energy dance-pop track that blends tongue-in-cheek confidence with sleek, radio-ready production. The project of Nashville-based singer, songwriter, and producer Hannah Schmeling, Zëta Ræ has become known for her genre-bending sound that fuses the nostalgic textures of rock and soul with the futuristic edge of hyperpop and alt-pop. Schmeling comments, “We wanted this song to be a crossover between Pretty Please by Dua Lipa and Greedy by Ariana Grande — and I think we nailed it. At the time, I was writing a lot of emotional, alternative rock songs. Making a sassy, dance-pop track about a situationship was a total 180, but it was so much fun. It’s one of the quickest songs I’ve ever written — about an hour, in my bed. Even years later, it still makes me want to dance.” Originally written and recorded in the Berklee College of Music studios, “Obvious” marks Schmeling’s first experience in a professional recording environment, bringing her pop-star dreams vividly to life.
Co-written and produced with Ryan Adams, the track features Schmeling on vocals, Adams on production and guitar, and Max Troppe on bass, creating a confident, infectious single that sits comfortably alongside modern pop powerhouses like Dua Lipa, Ariana Grande, Doja Cat, and Sabrina Carpenter while retaining Zëta’s signature spark of individuality. The song captures that electric space between flirtation and frustration where attraction meets self-assuredness, creating an anthem for anyone who knows exactly what they bring to the table. Zëta Ræ’s work lives at the intersection of alt-pop, rock, and experimental sound, with influences spanning from soul and shoegaze to hyperpop and jazz, while her lyrics delve deep into the intricacies of identity, independence, and the female experience in her twenties, blending vulnerability and empowerment with poetic precision.