It may be a decidedly personal project, but FLETCHER’s “The S(EX) Tapes” is resonating broadly.
Despite the absence of radio support or traditional promo, the EP’s seven tracks surpassed 50 million cumulative Spotify streams earlier this week. As of press time on Friday, the global Spotify streaming count stands at 50.8 million.
Focus track “Bitter (with Kito)” admittedly comprises the majority of the streams. One of the best performers in FLETCHER’s discography, the catchy and acclaimed song boasts over 29 million streams on the platform. Still, all seven tracks have found ample interest — only one (“Silence”) is shy of the 2 million stream mark.
An intimate exploration of her breakup, “The S(EX) Tapes” finds FLETCHER showcasing the potent combination of honest songwriting, emotional delivery, and pop sensibility that has yielded passion support from fans, critics, and other industry observers. As warranting of the “meaningful” label as they are the “bop” description, the tracks provide yet another powerful refutation that emotional songwriting and accessible pop music are mutually exclusive ideas.