Nikki Buatti Finds Strength in Life’s Darkest Moments With Soulful New Single “What Is Life”

Queens-born soul artist Nikki Buatti returns with the release of “What Is Life,” a deeply personal new single arriving October 16 alongside a cinematic music video. Blending the timeless character of classic soul with contemporary neo-soul influences, the release explores betrayal, emotional exhaustion, and the resilience it takes to rebuild when everything feels uncertain.

Raised on the sounds of Motown, doo-wop, and jazz, Nikki Buatti has developed an artistic identity rooted in emotional storytelling and vintage musical influences. On “What Is Life,” that foundation becomes the backdrop for one of the artist's most vulnerable releases yet.

Written following a devastating betrayal, the single captures the overwhelming feeling of reaching a breaking point while refusing to surrender to it. Rather than romanticizing heartbreak, Nikki Buatti confronts its aftermath with honesty, transforming personal disappointment into a broader reflection on survival and self-discovery.

The production brings together an impressive collection of musical talent. Co-produced by Nikki Buatti and Brendan Keenan, the track features saxophonist Richie Cannata, renowned for his work with Billy Joel, trumpeter Mac Gollehon, whose credits include David Bowie and Duran Duran, and celebrated hip-hop and jazz musician DJ Logic.

Together, the instrumentation creates a rich musical landscape that complements Nikki Buatti's soulful vocal approach, connecting old-school musical craftsmanship with a distinctly personal narrative.

The accompanying black-and-white music video, directed by Modern Day Auteur, introduces Nikki Buatti's mysterious alter ego, Miss Lonelyheart. Drawing inspiration from classic film noir, the visual follows a misunderstood femme fatale navigating a world seemingly determined to bring her down.

Beyond its striking presentation, “What Is Life” represents an important introduction to Nikki Buatti's forthcoming debut album, Miss Lonelyheart, expected in 2027.

With emotional depth, an accomplished musical ensemble, and a compelling visual identity, Nikki Buatti delivers a release that reminds listeners that even life's most difficult chapters can become the beginning of something meaningful.

“What Is Life” explores betrayal, resilience, and the moments that force us to question everything. Looking back on the experience that inspired this song, what did it teach you about yourself that you might not have discovered otherwise?

 It taught me that I'm a lot harder to break than I thought I was. I know how strong i am and what i have over come but what i was put through during this time almost did break me. I almost did give up.

When it happened, I didn't see it coming — the people I trusted, who were supposed to be in my corner, left me in the lurch. It took away my health and broke my body down mentally and physically. For a minute I really did question everything — my judgment, my career, whether I had anything left to give. That's where the question “what is life?” comes from, not as some poetic question, but as something I was actually asking myself, exhausted, at the bottom of it. The truth that nobody sees is that I am still struggling and trying to heal, so it taught me to keep going and to choose me every day and put me first.

"What Is Life" is a song about that struggle — about what it took to build myself back up. I don’t write music for anyone other than myself; that's always been true for me. What you hear comes directly from my soul, from a real experience.

Today, I'm ready to let my voice shine again. That's the most important lesson this song taught me — resilience isn't something you prove once to yourself. You have to choose it every day. 

Your sound is deeply influenced by Motown, jazz, and classic soul. In an industry increasingly driven by trends and algorithms, how do you preserve the authenticity and emotional depth that defined those musical eras?

Yes, completely — Motown, jazz, classic soul, those golden-era standards, that's where I come from. That's what was playing in my house growing up; that's what I was singing and drumming along to before I even understood what I was doing. Those eras taught me that a song doesn't need anything extra to move somebody. Just a real voice and real instruments and real soul. If it ain’t got soul then i don’t want it!

My music is a direct response to where the industry is right now. We can't tell what's real anymore — which voices are actually human, which ones were generated. I want the way I record to bleed into the listening experience, so you can hear that it's real. Funny enough, I still get the question: "Is this AI?" And I get it, I really do — it's a symptom of the times we live in. When something sounds too good, too warm, too exact, too good, people assume it must have been built artificially.

But that's not what music was ever supposed to be about. It's about creating ties through humanity and nature — the soul of a real voice layered with the rhythm of instruments being played by real people in a room, a friendship of sound. That connection is the whole point, and why we derive joy from music through time. Technology can help me articulate my sound, but it doesn't get to define it. The minute I let it do that, I'm not making soul music anymore; I'm making something soulless.

Even at a young age, I was never one to follow trends or what society told me I was supposed to like. I actually don’t even believe in peer pressure. And I’m still that way. I listen to what speaks to my soul or catches my eye, and I was called weird by a lot of friends and others during school for half my life because of it. Up until I met the cats I still create with now.

Collaborating with musicians like Richie Cannata, Mac Gollehon, and DJ Logic brings generations of musical experience into one recording. What was the most unexpected creative moment that came out of working together?

 When people really connect on a song, it's magic, but I don't think it's ever a surprise really. That connection happens because every professional in the room is willing to be vulnerable with each other. That part, I expect every time I step into a session.

What did surprise me was how these legends — Mac, Richie, Logic, Burton, Barber, Aguilar, Wolfgrammpeople who've been part of hit records for decades — treated me as their peer. Mac played trumpet on Bowie's "Let's Dance." Richie's been Billy Joel's saxophone player for as long as I've been alive. These are musicians who could walk into any room in the industry and be treated like royalty, and instead they walked into mine and treated me like an equal from the first note. No ego, no hierarchy, just respect, artist to artist.

I think about that a lot. I'm so lucky, not just to have met the greats, but to have actually played alongside them — to have them listen to what I was hearing in my head and build it with me instead of around me. That's not something you plan for or expect going in. And I am honored not to just work with these legends but to be able to call them my friends, my music family. (Not on this record, but truly honored to shout out the rest of my legendary music cats on my other records: Jay Rodriguez, Jenny Douglas, Nicki Richards, Jake Chapman)

Your upcoming album, Miss Lonelyheart, shares its name with the mysterious character introduced in your music video. How much of Miss Lonelyheart is a fictional persona, and how much represents the parts of yourself that the public rarely gets to see?

Something my director, Modern Day Auteur — my trusty accomplice in all of this — and I figured out from the very first video we ever made together is that playing a character can actually help us reconnect with ourselves. Sometimes the person who's living with the pressure, the failure, the health scares, all of it, is too clouded to reach the actual essence of your art. You need a little distance from yourself to see yourself clearly. That's what the character gives me.

Miss Lonelyheart is the femme fatale that came to mind — cast out by her own city, seething headlines in every paper. She is painted as this dangerous, mysterious figure, when really she's just a misunderstood crooner trying to make it. And honestly, I'm owning that part of me. The part that gets blamed, that gets done dirty, that gets talked about before anyone bothers to ask what actually happened. I didn't come up with that label for myself; it's one that's been given to me. But I'm proud of it now. It fits.

So to answer the question directly — Miss Lonelyheart isn't some separate fictional person I'm hiding behind. The songs in my upcoming album all come from this part of myself. I can’t wait to share it with everyone.

You've described “What Is Life” as a ballad for those who feel down and out. What do you hope someone who is currently experiencing their own rock-bottom moment discovers about themselves through your music?



I can't make anyone bounce back. I don't have that power, and I'd never pretend to. That fire is something everyone has to light in themselves — nobody can do it for you, much less a song. What I can do is tell my story and hope it turns the head of somebody who's in a rough patch. 

I'm not trying to hand anyone the answer. And maybe for just a moment, we get to tip our caps to each other. Two people who know what it's like to be down and out, nodding at each other from across the distance. Perhaps a little nudge in the right direction. I need that sometimes. I know there are others out there. That's all I'm hoping for. Not to fix anybody. Just to be a little proof that the elements are survivable.