Lianne La Havas: Unstoppable song review

Have you ever wanted to visit outer space? Have you ever imagined what it would be like to float through space among the planets and stars? Look no further than Lianne La Havas’ “Unstoppable” from her second album, Blood. “Unstoppable” explores the strength and unexplainable nature love by comparing it to a journey through space. Through released in 2015, “Unstoppable” remains a way to escape the world for five minutes and twenty-eight seconds (or longer if you have it on repeat like I always do) and explore what’s beyond.

In the song’s first few seconds, La Havas is already preparing the listener for their cosmic trip to the solar system. Her dreamy, breathy vocal introduction acts as the takeoff, immediately giving the listener a taste of what’s to come.

The vocals and instrumentals slowly build up as the listener grows closer and closer to the sky and with a harp-like glissando, the listener enters space. La Havas’ rich, raw voice swiftly carries the listener throughout the first verse into the pre-chorus. With lyrics like “Let’s be at peace, we’ll fly / Our hearts collide / Can’t escape the magnetic side” La Havas assures the listener that their journey will be pleasant. She compares space’s strength to love’s strength, emphasizing love’s power to make two hearts be completely infatuated with one another.

“Unstoppable” really picks up in the chorus, as it really begins to feel as if you’re actually “floating through the darkest reaches of space,” as La Havas describes in the song. The chorus also allows La Havas to show off her impressive lower register as well as her unique, powerful vibrato – a type rarely seen in mainstream artists.

The chorus is also where the heart of the song lies, as we see the emergence of the title that describes not only the power of gravity, but the incredible power of love too. La Havas repeats the line, “It’s just gravitational / We are unstoppable” to compare love to gravity, cleverly suggesting that love might as well be a force of nature, just as much as gravity is. Just as gravity brings and holds everything together, love brings and holds together people.

“Unstoppable” then deviates from the standard conventions of song making by moving straight into the pre-chorus again and into an outro where La Havas ad-libs, showing off her skilled runs and extensive range. The outro starts off very soft, almost as if La Havas is whispering in the listener’s ear, and slowly builds up, mirroring the intro. La Havas’ voice becomes softer as the song ends, like she’s bringing the listener back down to Earth. With repeated lyrics, “The stars will guide the way / In the dead of space / You will be my one and only,” La Havas again intertwines celestial themes and love. Even in the “dead of space” the “stars will guide the way” just as in a rocky relationship destiny will guide two people together.

With “Unstoppable,” La Havas takes the listener on a trip to outer space while successfully connecting and describing the complex topics of space and love at the same time. It’s also a really catchy song that beautifully shows off the uniqueness and authenticity of La Havas’ voice.

About Carolina Garibay

Carolina, or Cari, is from the Northwest side of Chicago who enjoys all things British, especially music. Her favorite Beatle is John, but she also has a soft spot for Paul. If she's not at Espresso Royale making playlists, she's probably scoping out campus for the best gluten-free food.

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