Rachel Leo returns with indie-pop coming-of-age single ‘London’
London-based New Zealand artist, Rachel Leo, releases her new single, London today, April 3, produced by Joel Jones (Will Swinton, Balu Brigada, alayna) and co-written with Harrison Roper (Honeybee). Honest, explorative and reminiscent of artists like Del Water Gap, Role Model and Djo, the upbeat indie-pop track follows her recent relocation from Auckland to London, and the emotional experience of moving to the other side of the world in your mid-20’s.
With 6.1M streams, 3.9M TikTok song views, placements on 36+ curated Apple, Spotify and YouTube playlists, airplay on BBC Radio 1, ZM, KISS FM and The Edge, consistent appearances on the NZ music charts, features in major media outlets (Rolling Stone ANZ, NZ Woman’s Day, TVNZ Breakfast, MTV, and The Project), and a following of 19.1K across socials, this 4-time recipient of NZ On Air funding has firm support from the industry.
Alongside collaborating with Australasian pop legends including Liam Quinn (Peach PRC, Rita Ora), Alex Wildwood (The Veronicas, Broods), Joseph Corban-Banks (Foley, LA Women) and Drax Project for her own project, Leo enjoys writing for other artists and genres, most notably for Lee Mvtthews on their track Dice which has over 1.2M streams and recently for Canadian DJ, Bensley on his track It’s True, which has been charting across Europe.
Written with Honeybee’s Harrison Roper and produced by LA-based Joel Jones, London was recorded and finished over voice notes and Zoom sessions. “I loved my life in NZ, had an amazing job and incredible friends, but I had this itch to turn it all upside down in the search of something different. I started writing this when I finally acknowledged and listened to that voice, and it captured my emotional journey as I booked those one-way flights. This was written through tears, and it’s what I listened to when I left on the plane.”
London follows the successful release of her last single Nightfall, which secured features on 14 editorial Spotify and Apple Music playlists, placement in TikTok’s in-app playlists, radio play on The Edge and virality across social media after being used in TikTok, Facebook and Instagram posts reaching 2M views.
Outside of music, you may recognise Rachel from her work in the TV industry as an interviewer and digital producer, most notably for her coverage of the 2024 TikTok awards from which her interviews reached 10,000,000 views, thanks to her viral chats with JoJo Siwa and Rob Irwin, as well as her interview with Miriam Margolyes (Harry Potter). Generating almost 200 million video views while creating content for Warner Bros. Discovery and Sky, Rachel’s humour and eye for virality places her well to continue building her strong international audience.
