Christena Rich reveals she can’t be Without You in her sultry new pop-R&B single — premiering exclusively on Tinnitist.
The long-overdue followup to her 2020 EP The First Time, Without You is a seductive slow-burner of the first order. Designed to bring the sound of Christena’s powerful soul and delicate falsetto to the fore, the intoxicating cut was produced by Lin Gardiner and written with Gardiner and Eric Zayne.
When you speak with Los Angeles-based Canadian singer-songwriter Rich about her craft, there’s something about her joyful exuberance and passion for music that’s impossible to ignore. “No matter what up or down or loss or love, life always has a song to write about it,” she explains.
Christena started recording at age 17 and has always been immersed in soul, R&B, gospel and pop, naming Amy Grant, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Aretha Franklin and Etta James as her biggest influences. In addition to writing and recording a wealth of songs, Christena is no stranger to the stage, having wowed audiences as part of the popular West Coast series with The Soul Sisters, being a faithful worship leader as well as performing for Engelbert Humperdinck, Coco Dolenz and Rod Stewart’s producer Lauren Wild.
Her passion for the story behind a song, combined with an effortless way of relating with any crowd makes for a captivating show. “When I’m on stage it’s like this huge wave of strength and passion take over and envelop my voice and my body and that’s when I don’t care if it’s too much,” she says. “It’s that vulnerability that makes performing a safe place to lay it all down on the stage holding nothing back.”
Her first widespread release, The First Time EP came out on Boomsmack Records in the fall of 2020. The trio of songs, created with collaborator, co-writer and producer Gardiner, saw Christena dip her toe into the world of dance and EDM, resulting in a blend of styles that work beautifully with her voice. It’s a sec of tracks that make you both reflect on the human condition and make you move at the same time. A feature on Julia Sound’s debut album — for the song Myself Like This — followed in 2021, accompanied by a powerful and brave lyric video. Christena next teamed up with L.A.’s Moonhead Industries to create a spectacular video for The First Time.
Check out Without You above and below, and follow Christena Rich on Facebook and Instagram.
