Tension Never Sounded This Good: Inside Riah’s “Hurry”
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There’s something deliciously frustrating about anticipation, that slow burn where you don’t know who’s going to make the first move. Denver’s own Riah understands that tension better than most, and she leans all the way into it with the official music video for “Hurry,” premiering February 10, 2026.
Originally released on her late-2024 album Trauma Bond, “Hurry” has quietly been gathering steam. Not in an explosive, overnight-viral way, but in that word-of-mouth, late-night-text kind of way. The kind where someone sends you a link at 1:17 a.m. with, “Wait… have you heard this?” And suddenly you get it.
“Hurry” isn’t about the moment you finally give in. It’s about the seconds before. That internal tug-of-war where wanting someone feels urgent, almost primal, but acting on it? That costs power.
Riah builds the song around that push-and-pull dynamic that defines modern dating. Who texts first. Who double-texts. Who pretends they don’t care. The track floats in this delicious in-between space, atmospheric, rhythm-driven alt-pop layered with moody bass lines and intimate vocals that feel like they’re being whispered directly into your ear.
There’s menace in the softness. Control in the vulnerability. Instead of delivering a massive cathartic drop, the production (handled by Pacific, with mixing and mastering by Quoc Truong) keeps things restrained. It simmers. It circles. It lingers. And that choice? It’s bold. Because most artists rush the payoff. Riah makes you sit in it.
The official video doesn’t just complement the song, it expands it. Directed with sharp, intentional vision, the visual unfolds in bright, curated spaces filled with tightly choreographed movement. Each scene feels like stepping into a different emotional reality. There’s an alter ego introduced, a physical embodiment of instinct versus restraint, and watching those two sides coexist is honestly hypnotic. Shot by Johnny Singels and choreographed by Lindsey Judd, the video is sleek but emotionally loaded. It doesn’t hand you a resolution. It asks a question instead: Who moves first? Who waits? Who decides?
And Riah? She’s perfectly comfortable letting us wonder.
If you’ve followed Riah’s journey, you know her story isn’t surface-level pop fantasy. She entered the Los Angeles entertainment world at 17, navigating the pre-Me Too era and all its unspoken realities. Those experiences could have silenced her. Instead, they sharpened her.
Now an entrepreneur and fully autonomous creative, she’s making music entirely on her own terms. Bedroom pop, yes - but with what she calls “villain energy.” There’s vulnerability, but there’s also bite. She doesn’t beg for attention. She commands it.
And you feel that command in “Hurry.” Even in its softness, there’s control. Even in its sensuality, there’s strategy.
Vocally, she’s captivating. The chorus might be deceptively simple, but she refuses to let it flatten. She bends phrasing, layers harmonies, and uses tonal shifts to keep you suspended. Her voice doesn’t just sit on top of the track, it pierces through it, pulling us deeper into this new era she’s crafting.
The video’s public celebration is happening February 14 at the Love Bites show at the Creepatorium in Denver, and it’s not your average gig. Riah will perform alongside aerialists, burlesque artists, dancers, and live musicians from the DejaView crew. It’s immersive, theatrical, and fittingly seductive. Even better? All ticket sale payouts from the show will be donated to worthy current causes. Intensity with intention. That tracks.
What makes this moment special is that “Hurry” wasn’t the obvious single at first. It grew. It lingered in listeners’ minds. It demanded a visual chapter months after Trauma Bond dropped.
That says something.
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