TikTok is swarming on the latest sensation by Cameroonian-American singer Libianca Fonji, who goes by her stage name Libianca. Her breakout single “People” is inspired by her own health issues. Regardless, the song has made the perfect beat for a slow dance choreography on social media.
Libianca Fonji was a participant in the 21st season of The Voice in 2021. With Blake Shelton as her coach, she made it to the top 20 in the competition before being eliminated. “People” is her first single, released on December 5, 2022.
Libianca has spoken at length about the inspiration behind “People.” The central theme of the song remains the same; “I hope that my supporters understand from this song that it’s okay to not be okay. It’s okay to be sick of it. Just feel. Feel those emotions.”
The song debuted at #02 on the US Billboard Afrobeats chart and #01 on the UK Afrobeats Singles chart. It has also gathered over 45 million streams on Spotify, and over a million videos on TikTok inspired by the song.
Listen to “People” by Libianca
Libianca “People” Lyrics Meaning and Song Review
There are so many people in this world, so many in your country, and you might have a big circle of friends or family. But, their mere existence doesn’t really mean much if they cannot touch your soul. It is natural to feel lonely at times. But if you feel lonely all the time, this song might hit you right in the feels.
Libianca has opened up about her mental condition known as cyclothymia, which inspired this song. It is a condition of severe mood swings including episodes of depression.
The song talks about Libianca in a state of poor mental health. A sudden realization tells her that she has been consuming a little more alcohol in the last five days. She was not drinking alone. She was with her friends. But did any of them wonder why she has been drinking more? Probably not.
Libianca talked about the real-life experience that kickstarted this song;
I was hosting a Friendsgiving at my house, eventually, I was like…I wasn’t feeling the vibes. I went to the bathroom, I cried, tried to pull myself together, and then I came back downstairs. And everyone’s like, “Oh, Libby, you want to take a shot of this Casa?” I’m like, “Yeah, sure, whatever.” So I take the shot. And then I’m just like, okay, you know what? This is not doing it for me. Prior to that day, we had went out a few times and I noticed that I was drinking way more than I usually do. I never felt anything that I didn’t like. I was feeling just jolly, and so I just kept drinking more. So after I took that shot downstairs, I was like, all right, I got to go. So I just left. No one noticed that I left. I just left.
Being alone is one thing. But to go unnoticed while surrounded by friends is a whole different feeling.
Libianca confesses that her eyes were red when she came downstairs to her friends. No one noticed this. They just passed her another drink. She does not smoke marijuana (“banga”) so it should have been obvious that her eyes are red from crying. But no one noticed or bothered to ask.
Libianca says that no one really knows her well enough to know what she goes through with her mental condition. It cannot be fun being on top of the world today and crying in your blankets tomorrow. She will be posting the highlight reels on her social media and hosting friendsgivings, so people barely see her lows. She wears a smile on her face for the public, but inside, she compares herself to being buried in a grave. Dying is not too bad. Being alive and feeling dead is several times worse.
All the people around you don’t really know you as much as you do about yourself. One cannot expect others to know us like we know ourselves, either. People will just come in and go out of your life. It will always be you who will stay with you. Don’t put too much value on these people.
In the second verse of the song, we hear Libianca talking to God. She is asking for a little help to keep her head up. Because she feels like she is drowning inside her head and she could really use a hand.
Maybe the success of this song is God’s way of reaching out to her. Maybe this will help. Maybe this will worsen her situation. Her highs just got a lot higher, and we will never know where her lows will land.
Just be kind to everyone around you!
Let us hear what you think about this song in the comments below. Read the complete lyrics to the song on Genius.