Nini Iris Drops Soul-Stirring New Song “Release Me”

Let’s stop calling Nini Iris a “Voice contestant.” That’s like calling Billie Eilish a SoundCloud artist. What “Release Me” makes clear is that Nini was never meant to live in the shadow of a talent show—this is an artist bursting at the seams, finally in control of her own narrative.

Her latest single is cinematic, yes—but not in the way Top 40 tends to treat the word. This isn’t orchestral bombast or streaming-safe drama. “Release Me” feels like it was made for the slow-motion climax of a foreign indie film, one that leaves you gutted for days. It’s lush but raw. Big but intimate. Every note carries the burden of lived experience.

Vocally, Nini Iris doesn’t perform—she testifies. Her voice doesn’t climb; it convulses. She doesn’t sing as much as she lets go, which makes the refrain “I won’t let you break me no more” hit like a resurrection. She’s not just surviving this heartbreak—she’s weaponizing it.

The real kicker? This is just the beginning.

Those who watched her on The Voice saw flashes of brilliance—her goth-inflected take on Radiohead’s “Karma Police,” her own version of “Lovesong” by The Cure—but “Release Me” feels like the first time we’re seeing who she actually is. The mystique. The melancholy. The spiritual fire. Her mentor Niall Horan may have helped shape her, but this sound is wholly her own.

Raised on the harmonic richness of Georgian folk and seasoned by the sonic darkness of alternative pop, Nini Iris has created a space where the old world and the new collide—and “Release Me” is that exact moment of impact.

If “Release Me” is Nini Iris’s thesis statement, then her future’s not just bright—it’s incandescent. The pop landscape might not be ready for her, but it better catch up fast.