Sofia D’Angelo has “No Idea” how much we appreciate her realness

Sofia D’Angelo is a singer, songwriter, and DJ born and raised in New York City. Last April, she released her singles “Jane Goodall / Take It Back.” Last Wednesday, February 26th, she put out her brand-new single, “No Idea,” an indie-pop anthem that has been years in the making.

Sofia D’Angelo is a singer, songwriter, and DJ born and raised in New York City—and a busy one. Last April, she released her singles “Jane Goodall / Take It Back” (you can read our interview with her here), and during the summer, her band MICHELLE toured the U.S. as openers for Still Woozy. Following the release of their fourth record, Songs About You Specifically, they were out on the road again—this time as headliners. We certainly have no idea (pun intended) how Sofia has managed to find the time to put out new music, but the truth is that when it comes to her latest single, it’s been years in the making.

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“No Idea,” which is both written and produced by D’Angelo, was born back in 2020. She revealed that she made an “amazing” demo two years later, but unfortunately lost the file. Artist or not, I think we can all relate to the frustration of losing our hard work. Luckily, she decided to re-produce it this past winter, and though we may never know what it sounded like before, some things take time for a reason. Perhaps “No Idea” was meant to come out now, in a different, more settled-in version. In a recent Instagram post, she said: “This song (...) has felt like the heart of the music I’ve always wanted to make, even in its varying forms.”

Sofia is known for her relatable, open-book nature, which shines through in both her music and social media. Whether intentional or not, she compels others to be real. “No Idea” delivers that same honesty and self-awareness. It kicks off with a firm, bassy guitar, before her soothing vocals come in, capturing the contradictory emotions the song explores. As she explained, the song touches on the feeling of not being over someone you should have moved on from long ago. Nostalgia washes over us as she juxtaposes lines like “Still feeling blessed for knowing you / But I don’t want your sticky residue, your breath in my lungs.” Conflicting feelings can co-exist—you can miss someone while still knowing you’re better off without them. This is the song to play when that feeling arises. The chorus ends with the sorrowful: “No idea you never loved me like that.”

One of the main things that drew me to Sofia’s music was her transparency, and “No Idea” is as transparent as it gets—sensitive, raw, and realistic, it makes us look forward to seeing what else she has in store. Undoubtedly, we are witnessing a rockstar in the making, and we feel lucky to be doing so in real-time.

Images: Emilio Herce

Text: Adriana Agudetse

Listen to "No idea":