Eva Westphal Releases Her First Spanglish Song “Hey Americana”
Eva Westphal’s Spanglish pop song “Hey Americana” went viral on TikTok earlier this month, and it was released this Friday, Jan. 28th. Written about men flirting with Westphal and her then-girlfriend at bars, the chorus details some of these interactions: “Hey Americana, chica bella, como te llamas?” (Hey American girl, beautiful, what’s your name?) and “Hey Americana, te vi de lejos y tuve ganas” (Hey American girl, I saw you from afar and wanted you).
In the song, Westphal reacts to this all too familiar experience for queer women by singing: “I push him off, say ‘let’s go.’” In doing so, she is able to effortlessly combine two facets of her identity – her Latin heritage and pride as a lesbian – into one song.
“Hey Americana” is Westphal’s first song where part of it is in Spanish.
“I showed it to my grandma, who only speaks Spanish, and it was so cool to know I didn’t have to translate those lyrics for her. I grew up speaking Spanish, so it feels nice to be able to include it in my music, because it’s such a big part of my life,” Westphal said.
This newest song from Westphal taps into more of a pop sound, in contrast to her acoustic releases. However, the songwriting and themes are similar; Westphal tends to write songs about her experiences, and “Hey Americana” is no different.
“I think the greater theme of taking an uncomfortable experience and making it into a fun, dance-able song goes along with the message I try to express in all my songs,” expressed Westphal.
Westphal shared that she is an optimistic person, so she wanted to show that it is possible to take negative experiences and make them into something more positive, such as a pop song.
“I also hope that non-LGBTQ people listen to it and realize how prevalent it is for queer women to experience unwanted advances by men, even when we’re clearly with another woman and uninterested in male attention – that’s something pretty much all WLWs have experienced, but a lot of straight people don’t even know happens,” added Westphal.
Since writing the song in the fall of 2018, a lot has changed for Westphal. She is three years older, in solid recovery from her eating disorder, out as a lesbian, but the lyrics from this specific song have remained relevant.
“I just wanted to write about the experience I had. But as the song continued to develop, I realized that I could eventually really have fun with it. It stayed ‘in the vault’ – Swiftie check – for a while, but I thought it could fit in well with this series of singles and projects I’m working on, so I decided to release it now!”
Westphal’s fans can look forward to more live performances in New York and new song releases in the next couple of months.
“I’m so grateful for where I am right now, and I’ve really come to appreciate living in the moment and being actively grateful for what I have right now. I see lots of musicians getting stuck in always wanting more… more people listening to you, more streams and shows. I can get caught up in the comparison mindset too, but mostly I’ve realized that I’m happiest when I realize I have so much already. I don’t need to be famous, I just need to realize that even one person I’ve never met listening to me is a blessing that a lot of incredibly talented musicians don’t have.”
Stream “Hey Americana” on Spotify, Apple Music, and iTunes.