Nardia Owns Her Truth: “Is It You” and the Power of Imperfect Love

Nardia ’s “Is It You” arrives like a raw nerve set to music — aching, unfiltered, and gloriously imperfect. The Melbourne-based singer-songwriter doesn’t just perform her songs; she exhales them, soul-first. With her latest single, she reminds us that there’s nothing more powerful than owning the parts of yourself that others tell you to hide.

Nardia has already built a reputation as a voice to be reckoned with — not just technically, but emotionally. She proved that again earlier this year, when she stood alone as the only woman to break into the Top 5 at the 2025 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, a field of 400 acts. She didn’t just show up — she showed out.

And “Is It You” continues that same thread of quiet rebellion. It’s a song that refuses to be overly produced or tidied up. The instrumentation is sparse, the production minimal — by design. There’s nothing to distract from the central engine of the track: Nardia’s vocal. Rich with tremor, control, and deep yearning, her voice floats in that ambiguous space between certainty and fantasy — exactly where new attraction lives.

She sings not from a place of performative strength but from the shaky edge of vulnerability. And that’s what gives the song its power. It’s a confession disguised as a slow jam, and in its gentle uncertainty, it speaks loudly: there is no shame in wanting. No weakness in wondering.

The accompanying video, set in a retro diner, leans into dreamy unreality — not a vintage gimmick, but a metaphor. Is this moment happening, or is it a beautiful lie? That tension mirrors the emotional space Nardia writes from: the blurry place where longing and possibility meet. She doesn’t hand the listener closure. She hands us the ache.

What’s most remarkable about “Is It You” is what it doesn’t do. It doesn’t try to chase trends. It doesn’t demand your attention with big beats or big drama. Instead, it sits with you, quietly, like a friend who’s been through it. It’s that restraint that makes it unforgettable.

With her album Own Every Scar on the way, Nardia isn’t just aiming to entertain — she’s building something more lasting. A body of work that doesn’t ask permission to feel deeply, or to be messy, or to take up space as a woman in a male-dominated genre. She’s here to own her voice. Her vulnerability. Her story.

And in doing so, she’s giving the rest of us permission to do the same.