by Jacob Hafley ’24

Allison Ponthier released her debut single “Cowboy” on March 8, 2021 via Interscope Records. The song, first featured on The Zane Lowe Show, is an homage to the 25-year-old singer-songwriter’s Texan roots and coming-out story. Many have kept up with Allison prior to the song’s release – check her near 700,000 followers on TikTok for proof of that – but she succeeds on magnificent levels in her official debut. 

Partnering lyrics that cut deep alongside airy country-pop adjacent instrumentals that could make the likenesses of Swift, Musgraves, and The Chicks swoon, Ponthier solidifies herself as someone to keep eyes out for, especially with an EP set to drop later in the year. The video, a production of epic proportions for an artist making her first strides, combines Ponthier’s out-of-the-box creativity with Jordan Bahat’s direction to create a beautifully camp representation of finding one’s true self.  

While Allison took to Instagram to confess that she had “spent so much time trying to distance [herself] from [her] Texan childhood,” we are glad that she reconciled with her roots – “Cowboy” gives something to everyone, whether it be another teen feeling stuck in the south  (‘This is how I felt in the Bible belt / Want to be that girl for someone else’), or someone who has escaped to a bigger and brighter city (‘It took New York to make me a cowboy’). 

“Cowboy” is out now on all streaming services via Interscope.