Willow Smith has released a new single. “Alone” is one of her most intimate songs, where she relied on her solitude as she wrote it, turning to the emotions that she usually ran away from in order to make it. She revealed the process helped her understand her emotions better, and value her relationships, including the one with her mother, Jada Pinkett-Smith.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Willow discussed her new song. “When we’re alone, when there’s nobody there to distract us from our own thoughts, we try to run away from it,” she said when discussing the making of her song. “But I feel like it’s a really interesting practice to understand and to really see what changes when you don’t try to push it away.”

When discussing her relationship with her mom, Willow said the writing of the song inspired her to prioritize compassion. “I really started loving her with so much more tenderness and way less expectations, which allowed her to see me differently and to love me differently,” she said.

More about Willow’s upcoming album

“Alone” is the first single of her upcoming album, which is her sixth. Willow claims the music is a departure from her previous three albums, which are within the rock genre. “During that time, emotionally, I was going through so much,” she said of her past releases. “There was so much resentment. There was so much need to just express myself. And those two albums helped me get it out.”

When discussing the music that listeners can expect in the coming album, Willow said she was much more present for these songs. “There was so much more gratitude, so much more resonance with myself, and so much more coming back to my roots with these new songs that are coming out.”