Ayra Starr’s Starrgirl, Track by Track

Ayra Starr has entered her Starrgirl era. Her third album is 16 songs and 46 minutes of Ayra doing pretty much whatever the fuck she wants: Afrobeats, R&B, house, pop, love songs, money songs, and a Zayn feature in the year of our Lord 2026.

So, track by track:

1. Dangerous

Opening an album called Starrgirl with a song called Dangerous is already THE entrance. Ayra was just reminding everyone that she is confident and slightly cocky, deservedly so. She has earned that right, so what can we really say?

2. Amazing ft. kwn

And suddenly we are in somebody’s bedroom. Amazing slows everything down into this hazy, very grown R&B moment with kwn. Subtle? Not particularly. Effective? yes.

3. Gimme Dat ft. Wizkid

Ayra Starr and Wizkid: Match made in heaven.

Sometimes we just need a beat and somewhere to whine and move our waist. Thank you for your service.

4. Pressure ft. Leon Thomas

Leon Thomas and Ayra together just fit. The beat was dancy, and the blend of both their voice? Impeccable. The Pressure!! Their foot was on our necks.

5. Tornado

Tornado has the very vibe of a cold November evening, surrounded by friends, warm and cosy inside, or outside having a smoke and just chilling. Ayra premiered it live during her Tiny Desk earlier this year, and it sounded sultry, sexy, and the Fola outro at the end was my EVERYTHING.

Actually, rewind it.

6. Midnight in New York

A blurry night in New York, red wine, strangers and that confidence everyone possesses after 11:59. House and techno creep in steadily, and, frankly, they can stay.

7. Hot Body

The title has already explained the assignment.

No further questions at this time.

8. Ms. Paper ft. Theodora

Money. Money. More money. My favourite song on the Album!!

Theodora slides on this bouyon-heavy track about getting it and, most importantly, keeping it. Two women are discussing the bag, and I am here for it.

9. Dance

Some songs require analysis, and there are songs called Dance.

Please use context clues.

The house influence comes back, and she Ayra’d her way through it.

10. Where Do We Go

Where Do We Go sits between Afropop and electronic music.

This gave very much: okay, so we like each other... cute... now what the hell is actually happening here?

A question I fear has terrorised people in their twenties since the beginning of time.

I liked it though. Very pretty existential crisis.

11. Who’s Dat Girl ft. Rema

Rema and Ayra? Mavins OG’s? Obviously, I was seated.

It is flirtatious, energetic and pulls dancehall and R&B into the mix. They have insane chemistry together. Annoying people on the internet were always going to debate it.

Dating? Not dating? Secret third ting?

I don't know these people.

Anyway, next song.

12. Misunderstood

She gets into her feelings on this track.

Misunderstood is glossy, nostalgic pop about being the odd one out and becoming yourself anyway. It is kind of like a Disney Channel coming-of-age movie, except everybody involved is now old enough to have direct debits.

13. Letter to God

This was smaller and more exposed. Piano, bass and cymbals built around it; she was essentially asking God to protect the thing she loves.

Very rude placement after Misunderstood, by the way. Some of us were trying to have a nice time. Like, damn girl, I was literally just dancing.

Give me a second.

14. Heaven Baby ft. ZAYN

Zayn Yes!! Zayn.

Instead of throwing him onto an Afrobeats track for the plot, Heaven Baby was a piano-led duet. Ayra’s warmer voice against Zayn’s falsetto works incredibly well together. Fifteen-year-old One Direction fans across the diaspora, your patience has been rewarded.

15. Treasure

Treasure was the comedown. Softer, it was a nice place for the album to breathe before the actual ending.

16. Hot Body Remix ft. Danny Ocean

Then she refuses to let us leave quietly.

Danny Ocean arrives, Spanish enters the chat, and the album ends with the listeners having fun.

So, is Starrgirl good?

Yeah lol.

What I like most about it is that Ayra does not seem particularly interested in proving that she can make a “serious” third album.

She does not spend 46 minutes desperately trying to prove she has matured by making everything darker and sadder and calling it growth. Sometimes she wants God. Sometimes she wants love. Sometimes she wants money. Sometimes she wants to dance. Sometimes she would simply like everyone to acknowledge that she has a hot body, and she does!! Dream hall pass.

There is vulnerability, but there is also sex, money, dancing, God, New York, flirting, and just having fun being young and hot.

Insane Range!

My favourite is still Ms. Paper, by the way.

Money won.