Williams' earliest memories as a young girl in bustling Port Elizabeth, South Africa, feature her performing—belting it out in church at four years old, providing the evening entertainment for her parents and their friends at age 7. But hers was hardly a picture-perfect youth. When post-apartheid crime ravaged her hometown, Williams' parents decided to pack it in and start anew elsewhere, in Nashville of all places. ("My family grew up listening to country music, so why not?") At 16, Williams found herself over 8,000 from home, a flame-haired Afrikaner in the land of the Grand Ole Opry. The transition was as tough as it sounds. "It took me a long time to adjust," she recalls. "Everything from the size of the fast food portions to the fact that people didn't understand what I was saying. I always had to repeat myself 10 times."
Not long after the move, her parents divorced—she and her kid sister stayed with her mom in Nashville, while her dad returned to South Africa. Williams took their split hard. Who can blame her for falling in with the wrong crowd? "I didn't see their divorce coming," she says. "I started rebelling, hanging out with an older crowd, drinking Southern Comfort, going out to bars."
In a city thick with teased-and-tousled glam-girls, Williams, a Ravenwood High School hellraiser, looked like she'd arrived to Nashville by way of CBGB with her heavy eyeliner, ripped tights and combat boots. But she found respite from her turbulent youth in writing. Every day after school, she'd deep-dive into marathon country songwriting sessions and quickly discovered she was brilliant at it. Influenced by a gamut of old-school and contemporary country-Western icons, from Alan Jackson to the Rascal Flatts, Dolly Parton to Taylor Swift, Williams poured her restlessness and soul-searching into her lyrics. By her junior year in high school, she'd locked up a publishing deal with Sony ATV. By 18, Williams was supporting herself. Her song "Fly Again", which was featured in Country Song (starring Gwyneth Paltrow), was inspired by an older boyfriend who helped foster her career and confidence. She co-wrote "Like My Mother Does," which was performed in 2011 by American Idol finalist Laura Alaina. Over and over again Williams was approached by Nashville heavyweights eager to cut a deal. She rebuffed them all. "I never wanted to be a country artist," she says plainly.
Williams relocated to Los Angeles when she was 21, and shortly after signed with Breyon Prescott of Chameleon Entertainment (a joint venture with the Island Def Jam Music Group). "Working with Breyon Prescott along with Aaron Phillips is literally the best thing that's ever happened to me," Williams says. Under their guidance, she has emerged as a sultry new voice on the pop-rock scene. She has already notched collaborations with a string of Grammy-winning hitmakers including Sandy Vee, Dallas Austin, and Rodney Jerkins.
Typical of many young women, Nikki has been through some personal challenges and bad relationships. Nikki used those experiences as motivation to truly express herself as an artist. Williams throws herself into her work, exorcising her pain and sadness in the recording studio. The results are achingly beautiful. She first released "Kill, Fuck, Marry," a haunting single by Sia and produced by Stargate, which has already captured the attention of critics and fans alike. ("Nikki Williams…is poised to be a breakout star," declared Cosmopolitan Magazine.) Her as-yet-untitled album, slated for release this spring, is already generating buzz among critics and music bloggers as one of the mostly hotly anticipated new releases of the year. "Glowing", her first single, is a chest-thumping dance floor anthem that showcases the many sides and powerful vocals of Nikki Williams!
Williams is currently on the road, sampling her music before a voracious crowd hungry for her trademark candor and explosive stage presence. She'll be hard to pin down for a while, she says, but that's a good thing. "I'm still working stuff out," Williams confesses. "But if you want to find me, I'll be in the diviest bar of whichever city I'm in."
Glowing
Nikki Williams Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Seven seconds till I hit the ground
But you saved my life!
Now I feel indestructible
So protected when you're around
Yeah, you saved my life!
You make me, you make me feel so incredible
You're making, you're make yeah so undeniable
A million hearts, you're the only one
Who locked it up, like I'm glowing in the dark!
I'm in your heart, you're the only one
Who lights me up, like I'm glowing in the dark!
This is my confessional
Seven seconds till I hit the ground but you saved my life!
Now I feel indestructible
So protected when you're around, yeah you saved my life!
You make me, you make me feel so incredible
You and I, you and I feels unbelievable
You're making, you're make yeah so undeniable
A million hearts, you're the only one
Who locked it up, like I'm glowing in the dark!
I'm in your heart, you're the only one
Who lights me up, like I'm glowing in the dark!
This is my confessional
Seven seconds till I hit the ground but you saved my life!
Now I feel indestructible
So protected when you're around, yeah you saved my life!
A million hearts, you're the only one
Who locked it up, like I'm glowing in the dark!
I'm in your heart, you're the only one
Who lights it up, like I'm glowing in the dark!
In Nikki Williams's song, Glowing, the lyrics depict a sense of vulnerability, awe, and gratitude towards a significant other who has saved the singer's life. The opening line, "This is my confessional," sets the tone for the rest of the song, as the singer reminisces about a near-death experience that was prevented by their partner. The line, "Seven seconds till I hit the ground, but you saved my life," suggests that the singer was probably in a downward spiral or a moment of despair, and the partner's intervention helped alleviate the situation.
The song further portrays the intensity and security evident in the relationship between the singer and their partner. The lyrics state, "Now I feel indestructible, so protected when you're around," indicating a sense of safety and reassurance that the partner provides. The repetitive lines that follow, "You make me feel so incredible, you and I feel unbelievable, you make it so undeniable," reinforce this feeling of awe and gratitude towards the partner.
Overall, Glowing is a song that celebrates the life-saving impact of significant others in their partners' lives. In contrast, it is also about finding the one that makes you feel alive, safe and secure.
Line by Line Meaning
This is my confessional
The singer is about to confess something important
Seven seconds till I hit the ground
The singer was in a near-death situation
But you saved my life!
Someone saved the singer's life in that near-death situation
Now I feel indestructible
The singer feels invincible and unstoppable now
So protected when you're around
The presence of that person makes the singer feel safe
Yeah, you saved my life!
The singer is grateful that someone saved their life
You make me, you make me feel so incredible
The person makes the singer feel amazing
You and I, you and I feels unbelievable
Being with that person feels like a dream come true
You're making, you're make yeah so undeniable
The singer can't deny how that person makes them feel
A million hearts, you're the only one
Who locked it up, like I'm glowing in the dark!
Out of many people, that person is the only one who makes the singer feel special and loved
I'm in your heart, you're the only one
Who lights me up, like I'm glowing in the dark!
The person loves the singer and makes them feel happy like a light in the darkness
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Arnthor Birgisson, Bebe Rexha, Daniel James, Leah Pringle, Sandy Vee
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind