Mahalia, the 5 stages of heartbreak → Song Review

British R&B singer-songwriter Mahalia ‘ate and left no crumbs’ with her captivating, emotional single, “the 5 stages of heartbreak.”

“Five stages of this heartbreak to go / Oh, that man really left; he ain’t never coming home.” British R&B singer-songwriter Mahalia (Mahalia Burkmar) goes through it on her single, “the 5 stages of heartbreak.” In this creative song, she takes us through the Kübler-Ross model, aka the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Burkmar composed “the 5 stages of heartbreak” alongside GG (Gabrielle G Stok), Lara-Maria Voill, Lorenzo Taddei, and Ross James. She produced it with GG, bAd entity, Lorenzo Taddei, and Monro.

“The 5 stages of heartbreak” begins with soulful guitar accompaniment. Mahalia delivers heartfelt, soulful vocals. During the first stage, denial, she sings, “Surely we’re not over, he just needs time,” and adds, “He won’t leave me high and dry, that’s not what he wants to do.” She nails that.  During the electrifying chorus, there are now “four stages of this heartbreak to go.”  With anger on the horizon, the production ramps up, including the drum groove. Mahalia drops a fitting f-bomb: “Said that he just outgrew us / That’s a fucking excuse, ah.” During the bargaining stage, the sound changes slightly.  The melodies are more rhythmic.  “I promise I’ll never complain, never gon’ take you for granted.” Well-played, Mahalia. Depression arrives as an instrumental bridge, led by a smooth but sad saxophone solo. Acceptance, the fifth and final stage, has more punch. Mahalia is more confident, proclaiming, “Uh, it is what it is, get up, sis’ / Pretty bitch / Thank God, you didn’t give him no kids.” Word.  On “the 5 stages of heartbreak,” Mahalia ‘kicks ass and takes names’; she ‘ate and left no crumbs.’ Sis’ ‘did that damn thing!’ Woo!