LIANZI’s ‘I Want What They Have’ Turns Dancefloor Satire into Intimate Longing
LIANZI’s latest single, “I Want What They Have,” released July 10, 2026, takes the familiar feeling of envy and dissatisfaction and dresses it in the pulse of a dancefloor beat. It was first announced as the title track of a planned EP, and it arrived as a single instead, which suits it: one song, one feeling, looped until it starts to look back at you. Instead of offering an escape, the house rhythms keep you moving while the lyrics place you squarely inside the tension of comparison culture. It’s a clever, cheeky move that contrasts the expected club anthem with a quietly unsettling emotional core.
Listen
Raised in a household steeped in traditional Chinese music, with parents who performed in China’s National Orchestra, LIANZI inherited a deep sense of sound as storytelling. Yet her path to music was circuitous - she first pursued fashion design and visual art, earning awards and publishing poetry before returning fully to music. This multidisciplinary background colors her work, giving it a cinematic and fashion-inflected visual world that complements her shimmering art-pop sound.
Her songwriting has already earned notable recognition: the single “Big Gulp” won the 2025 John Lennon Songwriting Contest’s Grand Prize in the Electronic category, the Lennon Award, and was named Song of the Year overall. Earlier, “Happy Fucking Birthday” was a finalist in 2023, and “Rain” reached the semi-finals of the International Songwriting Competition. These accolades highlight her skill at sculpting emotion with precision.
Sonically, LIANZI’s productions blend quiet longing with shimmer-pop textures that feel intimate yet otherworldly. Her home-studio approach allows for a personal touch, where melancholia and irony coexist effortlessly. The single, for example, uses dance music’s repetitive grooves to mirror the cyclical nature of desire and dissatisfaction, making the dancefloor feel more like a hall of mirrors than a release.
In a musical landscape often driven by trends, LIANZI’s work stands out for its emotional clarity and long-form vision. She resists easy answers, instead inviting listeners into nuanced explorations of nostalgia, longing, and the shadowed desires that shape human experience. Her art-pop universe is one where sound, image, and myth weave together, creating a singular creative world that’s as thoughtful as it is evocative.
For those drawn to artful, emotionally rich electronic pop with a cinematic edge, “I Want What They Have” offers a compelling glimpse into a quietly powerful voice. Keep an eye on this San Francisco artist as she continues to unfold her distinctive vision.
Start here: “I Want What They Have” for the latest single, and “Big Gulp” for the award winner.
Where to follow: Website, Instagram @lianzimusic, YouTube, TikTok @lianzimusic, Spotify, Apple Music, and Linktree.