ROHAN Channels Bittersweet Honesty on New Single “Killing Her Softly With My Song”

Cortney Armitage

Melbourne and San Francisco-based artist-producer ROHAN lays bare the complexities of heartbreak in his newest single, “Killing Her Softly With My Song,” out today alongside a retro-inspired visualizer. The title nods to Roberta Flack’s iconic “Killing Me Softly With His Song”, a track ROHAN first discovered through Lauryn Hill and the Fugees, but this time, the script flips.

Warm and wistful, the acoustic-driven ballad turns heartbreak into something poetic. Layered with pedal steel, tambourine, harmonies, and violins, it blends classic folk and Americana tones with ROHAN’s alt-pop sensibilities. The result feels like a breakup letter sung through a sepia filter, tender, self-aware, and brutally honest.

“It represents the other side of Lauryn Hill’s perspective,” ROHAN explains. “Instead of being the one undone by someone else’s song, I’m the one strumming her pain with my song—killing her softly with the truth she doesn’t want to hear.”

The track was self-produced between ROHAN’s bedrooms in Melbourne and San Francisco, with GRAMMY-nominated engineer Scott McDowell (Hyde Street Studios) helping bring the sound to life. The visual, directed by Mark Kohr (Green Day, No Doubt, Shakira), pieces together family footage from both Australia and the U.S., evoking what ROHAN calls “nostalgia, bittersweetness, and melancholy—you’re watching something sweet but still feel a bit sad after, yet grateful.”

Earlier this year, ROHAN caught the attention of Beabadoobee on TikTok and earned playlist placements on Spotify Fresh Finds and Apple Music’s Heartache playlist with his single “I Wish I Could Tell You.” Critics have praised his unique take on bedroom pop, blending early-2000s earnestness with modern introspection.

Now, “Killing Her Softly With My Song” marks another step in ROHAN’s growing evolution—proof that vulnerability can still sound cinematic.