Los Angeles pop-R&B artist Olivia Prado embraces attraction, uncertainty and emotional risk across her new six-track EP, Dirty In The Sand.
Pop-R&B singer and songwriter Olivia Prado has released her new EP Dirty In The Sand, a six-song journey through the excitement, vulnerability and uncertainty that come with opening yourself up to another person.
Despite its suggestive title, the idea behind Dirty In The Sand reaches back to Prado’s childhood memories of playing freely and not worrying about getting messy. As an adult, she has turned that feeling into a metaphor for fully participating in life, even when doing so means risking heartbreak, doubt or disappointment.
That progression shapes the EP itself. Beginning with the flirtation and excitement of tracks like “Temptation,” “Up n Down” and “Turn Me On,” the project gradually moves into more uncertain emotional territory. By its closing song, “Is It Enough,” the confidence of its opening moments has given way to questions about self-worth and whether connection can survive insecurity.
The EP also reflects Prado’s experience building a career as an independent artist. Beyond songwriting, she has remained closely involved with the creative direction, visuals, marketing and release strategy surrounding her music, giving the project’s idea of getting your hands dirty another meaning.
Raised in California’s Bay Area and now based in Los Angeles, Prado began performing through singing, dancing, acting and musical theater before developing her own songwriting. A year studying abroad in Sydney and the loss of her father later helped push her toward pursuing music as a career.
Musically, Prado pulls from both the bright nostalgia of early-2000s pop and the more intimate grooves of contemporary R&B. Dirty In The Sand follows her 2024 debut album Liv Laugh Love, but finds her digging further into the less tidy parts of attraction and intimacy.
Rather than trying to avoid those complications, Prado makes them the point: sometimes getting close to someone means accepting a little sand under your fingernails.
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