Makena Turns False Hope Into Fire On Her Addictive New Single “Delusional”

Los Angeles-based alt-pop artist Makena just dropped her latest single, and it’s the kind of track that hits you right in the chest before you even realize you’ve been sucker-punched. “Delusional” is a bittersweet, glittery gut-check about clinging to the fantasy of something that’s clearly falling apart. It’s pop with bite, sad, cinematic, and a little too relatable for anyone who’s ever tried to romanticize a red flag.

Written during a Nashville trip with Kate Ryder and Anthony Rankin (who also produced the track), “Delusional” takes the kind of heartbreak most people try to numb and turns it into art you can dance to. Wrapped in shimmering synths and dreamy production, Makena’s vocals float through the mix like they’re trying to convince themselves it’s fine, it’s all fine, while every lyric screams otherwise.

That’s the magic of “Delusional.” It sounds like a breakup text disguised as a love letter, vulnerable, self-aware, and too damn catchy to skip. The track captures the emotional hangover of mistaking potential for reality, and it does it with a wink. It’s heartbreak for the overthinkers, the daydreamers, the ones still replaying what could’ve been.

But don’t get it twisted, Makena isn’t crying in the club. She’s reclaiming her power one track at a time. The single marks the first release from her upcoming project The Valley, which promises to peel back even more layers of love, loss, and identity through her signature “salty bitch pop” lens, a genre she coined to describe her own brand of brutally honest, emotionally intelligent alt-pop.

With over 400,000 organic streams as an independent artist, Makena’s proof that you don’t need a label to make people feel something. Her music lives in that space between heartbreak and self-discovery, where delusion meets clarity and you realize maybe the only thing you ever really needed to hold onto was yourself.

So if you’re still convincing yourself they’ll change, go hit play on “Delusional.” It’s the soundtrack to finally admitting the truth, and loving yourself for surviving it.