LØLØ is bringing heartbreak to the holiday season with mall santa, a new double single featuring the original title track and a stripped-back cover of “Silent Night.” Released as the pop-rock singer continues her headline tour across North America, the two-track release puts a bittersweet spin on Christmas, pairing dark humor and emotional desperation with a heartfelt take on one of the season’s most enduring classics.
The title track finds LØLØ searching for a Christmas miracle in an unexpected place: a conversation with a stranger dressed as Santa Claus. Rather than offering traditional holiday cheer, the song turns the desperation of heartbreak into an absurd but relatable scenario, capturing the urge to believe that something, or someone, might make everything feel better.
Your daily dose of music news, trends, and fresh drops.
InMusic Newsletter
“‘mall santa’ is about being so heartbroken and desperate, that you are willing to try anything…including trauma dumping on a random man dressed as Santa Claus,” LØLØ explained. She described the idea of placing an intensely sad feeling in a ridiculous setting as a reflection of how heartbreak often feels, especially when the holidays amplify the desire to have someone by your side. The song acknowledges that there is no magical solution to romantic disappointment, while leaving room for the small, irrational hope that one might exist.
The companion track, “Silent Night,” takes a different approach. LØLØ strips back the production for a more intimate interpretation of the Christmas standard, giving the release a softer counterpoint to the sharp humor and emotional turmoil of its original song. Together, the tracks offer an alternative to the season’s usual celebrations, speaking to listeners who may find the holidays difficult rather than joyful.
The double single follows a significant year for LØLØ, who released her sophomore album, god forbid a girl spits out her feelings!, in April through Fearless Records. The deeply personal project continued her approach to pop-rock, turning romantic misadventures, intrusive thoughts and messy emotions into energetic, hook-driven songs. With mall santa, she extends that identity into holiday music without abandoning the candid songwriting that has defined her recent work.
LØLØ also revisited a familiar pop-rock classic this year through a new version of Plain White T’s “Hey There Delilah,” featuring the band. The collaboration grew out of her 2020 lockdown-era response, “Hey It’s Delilah,” which gained traction on TikTok and eventually helped pave the way for an official release with the original group. In September, Plain White T’s frontman Tom Higgenson joined her onstage in Toronto to perform the song.
The pair are scheduled to perform “Hey There Delilah (ft. LØLØ)” on NBC’s TODAY on Thursday, October 29, marking LØLØ’s American television debut. Meanwhile, she is continuing the North American leg of her god forbid a girl goes on tour! run, with remaining stops in Philadelphia, New York City and Boston, before reuniting with Simple Plan for dates across Asia and heading to Australia for Good Things Festival appearances.
Photo: Whitney Otte
Leave a Reply