Tanya Mezh’s “Wanderlust” has already cracked iTunes’ Pop Charts Top 50, and it isn’t going to stall anytime soon. The recent release of this new single from the Russian-born Mezh solidifies her standing as one of the most promising pop music talents on the global stage today. There’s nothing facile or transitory about her gifts. She’s five years deep into a pop career that began when she was ten, but Mezh has worked even longer to reach the increasingly lofty status she enjoys.
The fifteen-year-old singer and performer started her musical voyage at age four. Her skills were immediately apparent, and Mezh was performing at gala events and entering vocal competitions by her sixth birthday. Another turning point came when she entered Ivan Krutoy’s Music Academy shortly after her eighth birthday. It provided the final springboard towards her first single release at ten years old.
Her upward climb since then has proceeded unabated. As well, she has extended herself since then by pursuing an acting career. She’s appeared in the 10-episode Russian movie Legacy and two television series, Cat and Great Change. It hasn’t inhibited her musical pursuits. “Wanderlust” is her 15th single release since 2019 and shows how far she’s advanced since her debut.
It’s a fully realized pop jewel. The two-minute and nineteen-second-long single has immediate soul music influences, never overplayed, and balanced out with a strong strand of pure pop running throughout the cut. It opens with a smattering of electronic instrumentation before segueing into a slinky pop groove. It isn’t any stretch imagining Mezh performing “Wanderlust” in a concert setting. The song’s drum machine-driven backbeat has a convincing live sound.
The groove wouldn’t be convincing without it. Mezh locks into the groove with effortless confidence and sustains her hold on the tune from the first line through the last. It’s exhilarating to hear how this youthful singer orchestrates her singing for maximum possible effect, and yet it never sounds overly stagy. The song’s naturalness is stunning. Many pop songs strike a manufactured tone, but it’s far from the case with “Wanderlust”.
It deals with surprisingly adult themes. Mezh could sound out of her depth, but she doesn’t. It’s bracing to hear how confidently she steers “Wanderlust” to its inevitable conclusion; nor does she sound ridiculous singing with confidence about a life of yearning and endless motion. This single chronicles a chapter of her life, to be sure, but listeners come away from hearing this tune certain that Mezh will continue exerting this level of skill with future recordings.
There’s no doubt that she has staying power. Tanya Mezh is in this for the long haul. Her impressive command of the pop song idiom and willingness to present herself in a vulnerable fashion are enormous strengths. She’ll continue expanding on those. There’s ample evidence that she can take on any pop song form she wishes. We can expect that she’ll continue expanding her fan base in the coming years. “Wanderlust” is definitely a step in the right direction.
Claire Uebelacker