In an industry where empowerment often feels mass-produced and hollow, Julia Kahn’s latest single Badlands prowls. A moody, hypnotic dive into the shadow self, Badlands is a full-bodied embrace of the Dark Feminine that untamed, unapologetic force that too often gets edited out of womanhood. Kahn brings it back to center stage with haunting elegance and razor-sharp intention.

Sonically, the Nashville-based singer-songwriter-producer crafts a world that’s at once lush and dangerous — all misty synths, submerged beats, and ethereal vocals that flicker like candlelight in a storm. It’s a track that wouldn’t be out of place scoring a late-night HBO thriller or lighting up a sweat-drenched underground club. Fans of BANKS, FKA twigs, Billie Eilish, and Tove Lo will find familiar terrain here.

Badlands is about reclaiming the wild parts of ourselves that society has tried to repress — especially as women. It’s an ode to the power in our shadows, in our rage, in our sensuality — in everything we were taught to tone down.

It’s a natural evolution from her debut EP Heroine’s Journey, which took listeners on a spiritual ascent rooted in healing and self-discovery. Now, after international festival and radio tours across the UK and US, Kahn is stepping deeper into her power — and bringing her listeners with her.

With her next full project set to drop this spring, Badlands feels like the opening scene to something much bigger. A descent, perhaps. Or maybe a reckoning.

Either way, Julia Kahn isn’t coming to play nice. She’s coming to set the badlands on fire.