Paris WYA Is “Crashing With You" and Into a New Era
by Chloe Avila | September 16th, 2026
Standing in the truck bed, arms spread wide, you feel the wind rush past you. Charlie from “The Perks of Being a Wallflower" would inevitably say, “I am infinite,” from his place in the front seat as you laugh. This feeling, inherently cinematic, is obvious, given the famous movie scene I opened with, and instead of falling in love with life like those tunnel scenes, what if it were used to show how it feels to fall for someone before you actually know where the relationship is going? It’s reckless, exciting, and a little terrifying, at least for me. Anyone else watch that scene and grip your seat, mumbling to yourself, "Please don’t fall"? But that’s growing up and falling for someone, throwing caution out the window to see what might happen.
For Paris WYA, that feeling became the foundation for her newest single, “Crashing With You,” out September 25. I had the privilege of meeting with Paris WYA via a Zoom call to talk about the origins of her newest single and what the future of her career might look like.
The song began during a writing session last summer, when Paris WYA and her fellow writers were discussing a feeling she got about a particular person and an experience. When asked to elaborate on how it felt to be with that person, she had a simple answer: a car crash. That image became the central idea behind “Crashing With You,” transforming the uncertainty of a new relationship into something much bigger: a moment of completely letting go.
“I think that’s kind of like the whole idea of the song is very cathartic,” Paris WYA explained during our interview session.
That catharsis comes through very clearly in the song’s imagery. Paris WYA describes the track as capturing the beginning stages of a relationship, the period of “will they, won’t they,” when two people are doing things without necessarily thinking about consequences. No talk of the impending crash and aftermath, rather, “Crashing With You” lives in the adrenaline of not knowing what may come, or come what may, next.
You can practically feel this adrenaline rush when listening to the lyrics. Paris WYA said one of the most meaningful lyrics she wrote and sings is about “cutting the brakes.” The lyric represents something much more personal than simply driving imagery. She went on to explain that she often struggles with feeling the need to control and overthink different aspects of her life. So for her, cutting the brakes becomes a metaphor for finally allowing herself to let go.
That sense of freedom is exactly what Paris WYA hopes listeners take away from this song. She imagines the track playing while someone is speeding down a highway, feeling “young and free and alive.”
I asked Paris WYA if she could place this sound in any movie soundtrack: what movie or genre of movie would fit this song best? She said any kind of coming-of-age movie. Of course, as the Gen Zer I am, I immediately thought of “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.” Hence why I opened this review with the iconic tunnel scene, because while “Heroes” by David Bowie does the job, this song might take the cake, and this scene, too.
Visually, she describes the song through shades of silver and blue. The single’s artwork features Paris WYA wearing a silver mask against a blue background, while an upcoming visualizer was filmed during a night of running around Los Angeles in a sparkly silver top. The combination of the colors blue, “ethereal,” and a dreamy aesthetic like her previous work, and silver, something more edgy, bold, and statement-making. Creating the perfect picture of what a fever dream may look and feel like.
That balance of familiar blue and the unexpected silver may be the clearest sign yet that an evolution for Paris WYA is happening musically.
“Crashing With You” doesn’t completely abandon the dreamy world she has already created, but instead, it adds a sharper edge to it. From the music to the visuals, Paris WYA appears to be stepping into a version of herself that feels more confident, less experimental, and willing to make a statement.
When asked to describe her previous projects, Untangled and Glitch, as periods of experimentation. Her album Mannequin, however, marked a more vulnerable and melodic direction that she felt represented her more fully as both an artist and person. Now, with “Crashing With You,” she is beginning to move into something new.
If Mannequin represented reflection and healing, Paris WYA sees “Crashing With You” as the moment she begins breaking out of that space.
“I think with Crashing With You, it’s kind of like the beginning of breaking out of that, rebelling and just like reclaiming a lot of my own life,” Paris WYA said.
That makes the single feel less like an isolated release and more like an introduction to what comes next. Paris WYA says she wants this next era to bring her closer to becoming recognizable both visually and sonically, while also incorporating more elements of her multicultural background.
Her identity has always been connected to the places she has lived. Paris WYA grew up between Shanghai, Europe, and the United States. During the interview, Paris WYA told me the fun story behind her artist name. Her father, who is Chinese, immigrated to France in the 1980s, and she would spend her summers in France growing up, learning the language and culture. She thought picking Paris as her music name was a good throwback to her youth, and the WYA portion was brought on by the many text messages asking, "Where are you at” because nobody ever really knew where she was at.
Paris WYA described the different parts of her upbringing as shaping her in different ways: Asia taught her discipline, Europe taught her how to live, and the U.S. taught her how to dream.
Now, if that doesn’t sound like the perfect recipe for creating the next biggest pop star, I don’t know what else could.
This global perspective could become an even bigger part of her music moving forward. Paris WYA says fans should expect the next era to tap into her culture in ways they may not anticipate.
For an artist who was recently named one of 1883 Magazine’s Artists to Watch for 2026, the timing feels fitting. But WYA isn't treating the recognition as a finish line. Instead, she sees herself as being at the beginning of a much longer journey.
“Crashing With You” feels like the soundtrack to that mindset: young, fast-paced, uncertain, and completely willing to see what happens next.
And if the song is any indication of where Paris WYA is headed, she isn't hitting the brakes anytime soon.
Avila on Aux: added
Pre-save links: https://ffm.to/crashingwithyou