Fresh off the stage at Canada House at SWSW where she occupied a headlining role, Toronto-based Ralph parlays her momentum into the release of her newest single, “Scary Hot.” While the track doesn’t subscribe to the horrors it implies in its title, it is equally as thrilling, with synths playing as jump-scares and Ralph’s seduction doubling as an intimidation technique. Not safe for the easily tempted, Ralph’s tone and delivery adds a physicality to the track that is only bolstered by her no-details-spared lyrics. “You said that you would never date a diva / But turns out, you like the taste of libra,” she sings, with a suggestive wink in her voice. Co-writers Devon Cole and Michael Goldchain encouraged Ralph to move forward with a “flirty and a little uncensored” vision, inspired by a romantic episode between Ralph and her girlfriend in a car. “Scary Hot” is only the beginning of a period of experimentation for the Canadian singer.

As physically descriptive as the lyrics are, they do no justice to the irresistible sensuality of “Scary Hot”’s music video. Directed by Arden Grier, the pitch for the video is quite direct – imagine a sort of queer fight club where everyone makes out in the end – but the image is not complete without laying witness to Ralph and her partners’ displays of temptation. All of the tracks qualities are heightened in the visual, an exciting revelation that stands out to the artist for one reason in particular. “‘Scary Hot’ is the first time I’ve explicitly mentioned my queerness in a song, since I’ve mostly sung about men in the past,” Ralph says of her newest release. “It feels exciting to show this side of me in a way that feels fun and natural, and the music video also reflects that.” Her evolution, both artistically and personally, will continue on her upcoming EP 222, due this summer. Even after accumulating millions of streams and years of musical expression, Ralph has more to share with fans. Her next chapter has the potential to be her most exciting, and revealing, so far.

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