Chiara Oliver, a contestant on Operación Triunfo 2023, has achieved some success on the Spanish charts with ‘La libreta rosa’ and its extension ‘La Última Página’, which actually form a kind of double mini-album, but which do not constitute the official debut album of the British-Menorcan artist. This debut album will arrive this year, three years after passing through the contest.
It must be remembered that Oliver was part of the generation of Violeta Hódar, Paul Thin and, of course, the increasingly renowned Juanjo Bona, as well as Martin Urrutia, who publishes his first album this week. Oliver’s will take another month and can be heard from May 8.
‘Margaritas’, ‘No fue real’ and ‘Puzzle’ have been the first three previews, showing a clear evolution from adolescent punk-pop a la Olivia Rodrigo, present in cuts like ‘Bucle’, towards a more mature, somber and melancholic sound. ‘February 3’ was a warning.
In these three previews we find acoustic guitars, somber atmospheres, soft vocal layers and a marked alternative aftertaste, as well as emotional and introspective lyrics about love, which place Oliver as a clear advantaged student of artists such as Lizzy McAlpine, Holly Humberstone, Phoebe Bridgers, the recommendable Blondshell or the more introspective Taylor Swift. Oliver always had one of the most recognizable timbres of his release, and the change in musical direction suits him surprisingly well.
