Faith Richards remembers exactly where “Private Star” began.

It was 2022 in Paris. She was working as an au pair, writing constantly and settling into a version of herself that felt newly self-assured. Three years later, in a Dallas apartment, she finished the song as someone else entirely.

“I was single and discovering this power and confidence within myself in 2022,” Richards said. “I was shamed a lot for my dating standards in Paris, but honestly, it just made them even stronger and made me enjoy being single so much. When I finished the track in 2025, I was in love with someone who never made me feel like I expected too much. That’s the biggest difference.”

That shift sits at the center of “Private Star,” her latest single and a preview of a sophomore album due in summer 2026. The track feels controlled and cinematic, rooted in alternative R&B with a dark-pop edge. It is also personal, built from two chapters of her life that carry different emotional weights.

Richards, now based in Dallas, describes the song as instinctive rather than engineered. She co-produced it with longtime collaborator Prairies, the moniker of Jordan Iacovella. Together they leaned into mood and narrative rather than chasing a format.

The song began with a visual.

“I pictured her eyes piercing through this man like laser beams, commanding that she be the one and only,” Richards said. “It was a desire to be lusted for, unapologetic in the way she used her sexual power to her advantage, especially in a man’s world.”

That image of a dancer in a private room anchors the track. But Richards says the story underneath is more complicated.

“The other side of that is a deep loneliness and lack of self-love I pictured they both had,” she said. “He had hired a dancer and was really only seeing her as an object. With that in mind, she used her powers to control him in hopes of feeling something more, until it had gone too far. I was picturing the whole room being on fire by the end of the song.”

She paused, then added with a laugh, “God, this sounds sooo dark when I say it out loud.”

In the bridge, she sings, “I know you wanna feel the rush, to fill the void, to give it up.”

“Which honestly is sad and dark and sexy at the same time,” Richards said. “I feel like only if people really dove into the lyrics they’d realize it’s not just a sexy song.”

Richards’ music often carries that tension. The surface can feel smooth and sensual. Beneath it, there is self-examination. She credits that layered approach to a life shaped by movement.

Raised between Junction City, Kansas; Nottingham, England; and Los Angeles, she did not grow up in one stable environment. Now in Dallas, she says each city left its mark.

“It feels like I’ve lived so many lives,” she said. “I didn’t grow up in one home or surrounded by the same people. In one city I was the shy and religious girl, in another I was the confidently lost actress, in another I was grown and discovering my sensuality in my music.”

Her upbringing, she said, also included economic instability and spiritual change.

“My upbringing of being constantly on the move and the new girl, being raised in a lower-class, single-parent household with five other siblings and going from ultra-religious to my own beliefs gave me so much to say through so many experiences,” Richards said. “And I want to tell it loud and proud in whatever way flows through me, be it sensual and cinematic or free-flow and experimental.”

That openness has shaped her upcoming album. Richards calls it genre-free, not because it lacks direction, but because she stopped trying to force one.

“To just stop trying to label it,” she said when asked about a creative rule she had to break. “I used to be so scared of making straight-up pop music, especially because a couple of my early songs were molded into pop songs, and I don’t really like them. I was just trying to write something fast or please a producer or the sync world. I hadn’t fully discovered my sound or voice yet.”

She also hesitated to explore certain R&B textures.

“I was also too scared to branch out and experiment with different R&B styles,” she said. “And now I finally just don’t care, haha. If it’s pop or R&B or alternative or indie, it’ll just be whatever it is. As corny as it sounds, I just want to stop labeling my genre, my style, my art, and let it run free.”

Richards has reason to feel less pressure about fitting a mold. As an independent artist, she has surpassed 13 million streams and 300,000 Shazams. Her songs have appeared on Netflix series including “Love Is Blind,” “The Ultimatum” and “Temptation Island,” bringing her work to a global audience.

“In my opinion, sometimes sync can be a bunch of the same-sounding bright pop music,” she said. “I was honestly shocked when the company I work with decided to place a bunch of my music. It seemed to be much calmer and soulful than what’s usually placed, yet I know it resonated with people.”

The response surprised her.

“I’ve gotten hundreds of DMs over the years from people telling me they found my music from Netflix,” Richards said. “As an independent artist, that is just so cool. I’m happy for all of the opportunities I’ve had to gain more exposure and reach new fans. My fans mean everything to me. I just love them so much. And I know I’m a Leo, but if you’re listening to my music, I’m like, yes, I can trust you and you’re a good person, haha.”

Even with broader exposure, her writing remains intimate. Listeners often describe her songs as diary-like, low-lit and personal.

“I love that visual,” she said. “Even when it’s intimate and out there, I’m still protective of my innocence. I always will be. I’m most excited to expose my growth. I am less timid and more bold. I am becoming a loud and confident woman. I am encouraging myself to evolve, and my art inevitably follows in my footsteps.”

Confidence is a recurring theme in “Private Star.” Richards describes it as choosing power rather than waiting for permission.

“It’s also about letting your imagination roam free, using your divine and dark feminine powers to your advantage, for better or for worse, depending on how you interpret the song, and owning your sensuality as a woman,” she said.

That perspective, she added, did not come from ease.

“I think growing up without a dad and with a mother battling her own personal issues and financial struggles forced me to lean in on myself,” Richards said. “I’m the only one guaranteed to be there till the end, so I better like myself, not hold back, and live the life I deserve starting now. I’d rather die knowing I gave my dreams, my life and love everything I could than wish I would’ve just taken the scary leap.”

Offstage, she defines stepping into power in simpler terms.

“I’d say it looks like standing firm in what I believe and not backing down if I don’t fit in, just being proud of who I am and what I stand for,” she said.

Richards’ background in acting and fashion also shapes how she approaches storytelling. She earned an Associate of Arts in Acting from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles. She credits that training with expanding her emotional range.

“The acting college I went to in Los Angeles opened up my mind so much,” she said. “I am eternally grateful that my nervous 18-year-old self decided to take the leap. Acting has helped me with my music videos, my vulnerability, my willingness to try things outside of what I’m used to, my ability to work as a team and so on.”

Fashion became more central during her time in Paris.

“I really started to love fashion when I moved to Paris in 2022,” Richards said. “I never studied it, but I’m constantly making mood boards on Instagram and Pinterest with styles I love and want to test out. Fashion is all about having fun and experimenting. Some fits I try and I’m like, ‘nope, never again,’ and others become a staple.”

She sees fashion as part of the same creative ecosystem as music.

“It’s art, just like acting and music,” she said. “I’m nowhere near where I’d like to be with fashion yet, but I’m learning. I’m always going to gravitate toward anything to do with creativity. It brings me closer to my best self, which in turn helps me create better music as I step into each new version of myself.”

As she looks toward 2026, Richards says the next phase of her work will include a side listeners have not fully seen.

“I haven’t released a lot of fun, catchy bops,” she said. “I usually gravitate toward the chiller side, like my recent songs ‘Private Star’ and ‘In the End,’ so I’m excited for a couple more songs that are upbeat and sexy or sassy and can be added to the girls getting-ready-to-go-out playlists. I’ll always write music for the girlies!”

For now, “Private Star” marks a moment of transition. It captures two versions of Richards in one track, the single woman in Paris testing her standards and the partner in Dallas finishing a story with more certainty.

The result is not a manifesto. It is a snapshot. A character in a private room, a fire imagined at the end of a song and an artist deciding she no longer needs to explain what genre she belongs to.