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We all want to find that special someone, but as Jai’Len Josey can attest, sometimes the most important love story you can have is with yourself. On her new album, Serial Romantic, she explores the highs and lows of a relationship, and comes to some conclusions about the power of love. 

Josey released a handful of singles before Serial Romantic’s release, most of which dive into the exhilarating rush of the start of a relationship. On “Freak,” she dates her partner to match her energy — “You got something I need // baby, give it up // keep on flirting with me // I’ma give it up” — while “New Girl” sees Josey challenge a guy to get out of his head and into the moment. 

“Don’t be afraid of me, baby boy,” she sings over the infectiously danceable beat. “Your intellect gon’ make you miss the feeling.”

However, as the album progresses, so does Josey’s relationship, and cracks begin to show. On the slow and slinky “Truce,” she tells her frustrated lover, “I’m not trying to wake up, stay up, be mad all night.” 

Things come to a head on “Won’t Force You.” The song’s sweeping, dramatic production matches Josey’s emotional state as she declares, “If you don’t wanna be here, I won’t force you.”

A self-described serial romantic is never down for long, though. On the disco-tinged “This Time Around” tracks Josey through a new fling that she swears will be different this time (“This time around, I’m gonna give this everything // “I learned my lesson, I’ll do what it takes”), while the album’s title track is an infectious ode to the joys of keeping a roster of partners on call. 

“I’m a serial romantic,” Josey sings with no apologies. “If I could, you know I would, ‘cause I’m in love with all of y’all.”

While romantic partnerships can be fun, at the end of the day, Josey shares the most important lesson her relationships have taught her on album closer “I Believe (Selfish) — “I believe all of the love I have to give // I should leave some for me.”

“The album is definitely about being selfish after being selfless for so long,” Josey explained at a recent press conference. “Being a ‘serial romantic’ means all the trials that you go through, through different relationships and through different experiences…knowing at the end of the day that you can’t pour into somebody’s cup if you don’t have anything to pour.”

She also shared her hopes for what listeners take away from Serial Romantic: “I can give [this album] out to other people so that they can have a little bit of therapy, just as much as it's been therapy to me.”

With Serial Romantic, Josey expertly traces the epic ups and downs of a relationship, bringing fans along as she falls in love again and again — and finds the truest love within herself.