Girl in red's new single is out today, October 9, and it's called “blue.” The release comes with an Isak Jenssen-directed video and a colour change that has spread across the artist's website and Instagram account. The audio is a single track, 4:10 long, released through Columbia Records under licence from world in red.

The cover is an odd little image to put alongside a familiar artist name. There is no face on it, just strips of blue denim. You can make out the weave, seams and differences in shade. Set against the name girl in red, the image gives the campaign a contrast before a listener has heard a second of the song.

Official blue single cover featuring vertical strips of blue denim
Official cover artwork for girl in red’s “blue.”

The official video description now links to “girlinblue” on Instagram. Her website has gone blue too, though the recording is credited to girl in red. We'd stop short of calling that a permanent new artist name. What we can see is a coordinated look for this song, with the colour changing from one part of the campaign to the next. Even a familiar name reads differently when the image beside it changes.

October is a familiar part of the catalogue, even though it isn't in this new title. “We Fell in Love in October” dates from 2018, and “October Passed Me By” from 2022. “blue” arrives this October, four years after the latter song and eight years after the former. That's a useful short listening sequence for somebody catching up: three releases, with enough distance between them to hear more than one moment in an artist's career.

The albums fill in part of that distance. Her debut, if i could make it go quiet, came in 2021. I'M DOING IT AGAIN BABY! followed in 2024. We'd keep those dates in mind when revisiting the October songs. By the time “blue” arrives, there are two full albums between it and the early single. All three songs can share a playlist, but the years between them are part of the comparison.

The video has a few names worth picking out from its credits. Jenssen is director and director of photography, Martin Bremnes is the editor, Edd Carr is credited for cyanotype work, and Ida Ekblad for artwork. Following those credits gives the visual side of “blue” some substance beyond the simple observation that the colour has changed.

There is no new album date in the public announcement reviewed here. For the moment, there is a song and a film to explore, with a redesigned visual frame around them. The earlier recordings offer context, not a confirmed storyline that “blue” has to complete. We'd start with that small comparison and leave room for the new release to make its own place in the catalogue.