Much like the artist herself, Portia Clark’s latest single ‘Look What You’ve Done’ is powerful, inspiring, and uplifting.
Portia co-wrote her brand new single – the first taste of her upcoming album, scheduled for release in 2024 – with Audius Mtawarira (Flo Rida, Delta Goodrem, Jessica Mauboy), a multiple ARIA and APRA award-winning African-born, Sydney-based hitmaker.
Listen here: Look What You’ve Done
Throughout ‘Look What You’ve Done’, gentle guitar picking, suspended strings and a softly swaying beat cradle Portia’s sublime, soul-stirring vocal performance. “Were you really born here to suffer?” she ponders, channelling her own hardships in order to portray complex emotions through song.
Born into poverty in Lusaka, Zambia and ostracised from her church following a teenage pregnancy, Portia also survived domestic violence before finding true love and relocating to Perth, Australia in 2014. Here, Portia has created the kind of life she always dreamed of, together with her loving husband Brendan and their three children.
Slick production consistently serves to enhance Portia’s exceptional vocals, which retain their rightful place under the spotlight for the duration of ‘Look What You’ve Done’. She also poses a string of important questions during her deeply personal latest single: “Where is the joy in the life I’ve been fighting for?…“Would God really want all this despair behind every door?
Portia is living proof that unwavering faith can transform lives. “Singing’s my life. Portia reflects of the gift that gave her hope and ultimately saved her. By consistently pushing through adversity with courage and persistence, she noticed her dreams started to closely resemble reality.
There’s a significant lyrical shift from first to third person in the second chorus of ‘Look What You’ve Done’ – “Oh look what we’ve done…” – as Portia finally feels supported, no longer needing to shoulder life’s burdens alone. Listeners would then be wise to brace themselves for her awe-inspiring, climactic power note – Portia’s idol Whitney Houston springs to mind – during the song’s soaring bridge: “It’s time to look inside, it’s in all of you/ Unconditional love inside your heart.”
Through bravely sharing her story and her incredible singing voice, Portia hopes to “uplift people that feel down”: “When I sing my music, I want to be able to encourage people that are hurt. I want my presence – when I stand on stage, singing – to connect with people. I want them to feel better about themselves by the time I’m done singing, because I know how it feels to be hurt and have nobody to talk to. People have different ways of healing and finding encouragement. Just reading my story could save someone’s life.”
‘Look What You’ve Done is out now on all streaming platforms.