Willa Amai

At first glance, Willa Amai’s album title sounds like something an overzealous child might brag about to their babysitter (as soon as their parents leave). I Can Go To Bed Whenever. And to some extent, the folk-pop newcomer means it that way. At 17, Amai views her debut LP as a coming-of-age story — an exploration of adulthood as she finishes her junior year of high school. The deeper context, however, speaks to the Los Angeles teen’s mental health journey, and how a childhood diagnosis of anxiety disorder manifested itself, even as then-13-year-old Amai was going viral on YouTube for her ethereal cover of Daft Punk’s “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” in 2017. “I had a fear of not sleeping,” Amai tells SPIN over the phone. “From fourth grade to eighth grade, I made my mom promise me that ...