Faouzia Says Bye to a Love That Never Was on TikTok-Viral ‘R.I.P., Love’

When the love’s not there, the love’s not there. On Tuesday, Faouzia released the Arabic trill-filled earworm “R.I.P., Love” about letting go of a significant other she simply doesn’t have feelings for.

“Said you’d die for love/But I never loved you, sorry,” she sings on the song, which prior to its release had been used in nearly 500,000 TikToks. “So long, you’re gone/It hurts to see/Said you’d die for us/So now R.I.P., love.”

While the track’s heartfelt lyrics and Faouzia’s powerful vocals are noteworthy, it’s the song’s effortless lacing of Arabic and Middle Eastern sounds with contemporary pop elements that set it apart.

“My earliest experiences with music date back to family road trips when I was a kid. My mom and dad would play these incredible Moroccan songs full of big percussive elements and Arabic trills,” she said in a statement. “I was introduced to pop music soon after and instantly fell in love.”

“I feel like the production, melodies, and powerful narrative in ‘R.I.P.’ encompass so many parts of my musical heritage,” she adds. “It feels like me.”

The Moroccan-Canadian singer’s new song is set to be a part of her upcoming project Citizens, which will feature previously released tracks “Puppet” and “Hero.” The new project has been a long time coming for the singer, who is also working toward an engineering degree at Canada’s University of Manitoba. She collaborated in 2020 with John Legend on “Minefields” and joined Kelly Clarkson on an Arabic remix of “I Dare You.”