LP tells PEOPLE what she wants listeners to learn from her latest track: “Live, enjoy and love hard because you just never know when you’re going to be taken away for whatever reason”
By Darlene Aderoju and Sarah Michaud
March 11, 2021 10:00 AM
LP is back with a bang.
On Thursday, the star released an all-new music video — which features actress and friend Jaime King — for her latest track, “One Last Time.”
The visual is quite the love story, which comes to an abrupt end shortly after LP is whisked away from a romantic dinner by a team of masked individuals.
PEOPLE has the exclusive first look at the video — and both stars open up about the track and their friendship.
“[The message I’m sending is] to enjoy life and to know that it could end at any time,” LP, 39, tells PEOPLE. “Obviously, we all know that, and we’re especially aware of that now. I feel like it’s just trying to be like, ‘Live, enjoy and love hard because you just never know when you’re going to be taken away for whatever reason.’ I know that sounds morbid, but to me, that’s just true. Nothing has been teaching us more about that than this time right now.”
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The songstress also explains how she knew King, 41, would be the perfect fit to play her love interest in the clip.
“She has a timeless quality to her beauty and her acting in my opinion and she just brought a lot of elegance and old Hollywood romance to it,” LP says. “We are really close friends and we’ve just always had great chemistry and it was fun for us to make. I just knew she would be a great addition.”
LP also tells PEOPLE why she chose to record “One Last Time” herself, though previous songs written by her have been recorded by Cher, Rihanna, the Backstreet Boys, Céline Dion and Christina Aguilera.
“I never wrote it for anybody else but me, to be honest, so there wasn’t really a decision there,” she says. “This song is very quirky. I don’t even know how I would pitch this song to someone. Even for me, it’s a bit quirky and a bit different from my other things.”
LP
| CREDIT: COURTESY LP
“I’m just always about a song finding its way,” she continues. “That’s the thrill of writing songs for me, whether they’re for someone else or I’ve written them for me and maybe they find their way to someone else, the journey of that song, as I’ve learned again and again in my career, is just that, it is its own journey. Once it gets out in the world somewhere, it’s just really cool to see where it goes. And I can’t wait to see the way this one goes.”
Her co-star King tells PEOPLE about their meaningful friendship and her work in the new music video.
“I know LP through a series of extraordinary miracles,” says the actress. “I first heard her music about three years ago and I was offered a part in a film that I was really terrified to take, because the content was dealing with something very personal to me. Every day, to and from set, and on set, I would listen to LP, and that’s the only way that myself and other cast members got through the filming process.”
“We all shared a very deep bond of being lifted up by her music,” she adds. “And her artistry allowed us to tell our truths. That kind of gift from a singer so extraordinary leaves a lasting imprint on your life as an artist. I wrote her a very long letter and sent it to her via Instagram, and she wrote something very nice back. We met and the rest is history.”
The Tit for Tat star also explains what drew her to take on her co-lead role in the music video.
“Anything that LP does, I’m instantly magnetized to,” says King. “I have been lucky enough to watch her process making this album. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever heard or seen before. Period. I will do whatever it takes to make sure that I can support a friend, and it is a true honor to create with someone you love so deeply and have such a profound friendship with.”
She goes on, “The beauty of working with artists that you admire is that we magnify one another. And that’s what LP does through her music, and with audiences. It is inexplicable and breathtaking.
| CREDIT: RYAN JAY
For King, LP’s music has always had a unique effect.
“One last thing I want to add would be something that has happened several times to me when I’m driving playing LP,” she tells PEOPLE. “The first time I was on my way to a very big meeting that I was nervous for, so I was blasting [LP’s cover of Beyoncé’s song] “Halo (Live).” I was in the middle of Beverly Hills at a stop sign and literally every single person stopped dead in their tracks in the middle of the street [and] on sidewalks [and] turned towards my vehicle. Several people ran up to the car to ask who was singing. This has happened far more than once. That’s the power of my friend.”
The stars also reveal some of the most memorable — funny and slightly awkward — moments they shared while filming the music video.
“The natural dynamic for LP and myself is always funny, honest, real, deep and ridiculous,” says King. “That whole experience was transcendent, beautiful, reflective, hilarious and profound. [That’s] always the case with us when we are together.”
And for LP, there’s one story that sticks out from the rest (though she wasn’t there to witness it herself). “Talayeh and Alex’s girlfriend, Alejandra — during the wild scene and everybody partying on the table, Alejandra caught approximately 10 to 15 grapes in her mouth from across the table. She almost wanted to barf because she couldn’t eat any more grapes.”
She recalls of the set venue, “I think we were more in awe of the place. That video for me, I don’t know if other people will feel this way, but I feel like I want to live in it because that place is just so cool. You can’t help but feel like you’re in a different time when you’re there. It just absolutely takes you into a different place.”
By Darlene Aderoju and Sarah Michaud