Written by James Russell | November 2, 2026
Photo credits to mHart
For Vietnamese American artist promqueen, growing up has meant learning to separate the fears she inherited from the person she wants to become. It is a process of looking inward, revisiting relationships, and finding the courage to move forward without having every answer. On her latest album, szn three, she gives herself the space to do exactly that.
Released October 16 through mHart, Texas’ first and only Asian American music label, the seven-track project marks a softer, more introspective chapter in promqueen’s evolving artistry. Where her previous releases introduced listeners to her family and explored the immigrant experiences that shaped her upbringing, szn three turns the focus toward her own identity, relationships, and emotional growth.
Promqueen describes the project as “vulnerable, reflective, soft girl,” playfully referring to it as the “girl sleepover in your feelings songs edition.” The description captures the album's dreamy atmosphere, but there is something more personal beneath its lighter production. Working alongside longtime collaborator and producer waverly, she examines how the experiences of her parents' generation have continued to influence her own decisions, particularly when it comes to trust, commitment, and taking risks.
Photo credits to mHart
Growing up, promqueen often found herself hesitant to fully commit to relationships or step into unfamiliar situations. As she got older, she began recognizing that some of those reservations were not entirely her own. The anxieties and fears her parents carried as immigrants had gradually become part of how she understood the world. With szn three, she begins to untangle those feelings and make room for an identity that is hers to define.
“The only way to face these challenges is through,” she says.
That willingness to sit with difficult emotions becomes one of the album's defining qualities. Rather than presenting growth as a clean break from the past, promqueen allows her songs to exist somewhere between reflection and acceptance. There are memories she cannot change, relationships she still thinks about, and questions that do not necessarily have answers. The album finds its strength in allowing those feelings to coexist.
One of the most important pieces of that journey is “later, bloom,” a song that ultimately helped unlock the direction of the project. Written over several months, the track reflects on three past relationships, revisiting the words left unsaid, the regrets that linger, and the different versions of herself that existed within each experience. It becomes less about returning to the past and more about finding the peace to finally let it go.
Its creation also reflected a different approach to songwriting. Typically, promqueen and waverly begin with the production before she develops the melodies and vocals. But “later, bloom” required more time. What started as a track in January 2026 did not fully come together until months later, when the lyrics and melody finally found their place.
“I'm glad I allowed myself time to cook and trust myself in the writing,” she says.
That patience carried into the rest of the album. Sonically, szn three feels expansive, built around dreamy textures and a palette of lavender, silver, neon green, and periwinkle. Its influences move across genres and generations, drawing from Hayley Williams, Doja Cat, Madonna, Young Miko, Vietnamese folk singer Trịnh Công Sơn, and Linda Trang Dai. The result is a sound that feels playful and light without losing the emotional weight of the stories being told.
The album's quieter moments are among its most revealing. On “what do you say?,” promqueen steps into a more raw and poetic space, describing the song as her “Audrey Hepburn singing ‘Moon River’ on a window sill moment.” It captures the strange intersection of happiness and sadness, where even beautiful memories can carry a sense of longing.
“pilot” offers another side of her vocal expression, moving between head voice and chest voice in what she describes as a freeing experience. Meanwhile, “tuff” brings her family directly into the music through the voices of her sister and mother. Their presence gives the track an added sense of familiarity, reinforcing the idea that much of the strength she has been searching for has been with her all along.
Photo credits to mHart
Across the seven tracks, promqueen moves between the deeply personal and the wonderfully unexpected. A reference to “blooming into an anime” introduces a sense of imagination and possibility, while a mention of mắm tôm, the Vietnamese fermented shrimp paste, brings humor and cultural familiarity into the album's more serious moments. Elsewhere, heartbreak is recalled through specific memories, from a summer breakup in a park to the complicated tenderness of a first queer love.
These details make szn three feel lived in. Its stories are not presented as distant reflections or lessons learned, but as moments that still carry meaning. The album understands that becoming someone new does not mean abandoning the people, places, or experiences that brought you here.
That same idea carries into the project's visual identity. Moving away from enclosed spaces, the accompanying imagery embraces flowers, open skies, sunsets, and golden-hour light. The natural surroundings mirror the album's central themes of patience and transformation, creating a visual world where growth is not forced but allowed to happen.
For promqueen, that transformation also extends to how she approaches her artistry and the community around her. Her live performances continue to carry the childlike joy and wonder that listeners have come to recognize. But while the promqueen of szn one was eager to keep moving forward, the artist behind szn three has learned that growth can look different at different stages of life.
“A girl needs to rest and chill sometimes,” she says. “She needs to breathe. This is me, closing my eyes and breathing.”
It is perhaps the simplest way to understand what makes this chapter different. szn three does not try to turn every difficult experience into a resolution. Instead, it acknowledges the importance of slowing down, allowing yourself to feel, and accepting that some parts of growing up take longer than others.
For Vietnamese Americans and the wider AAPI diaspora, the album also offers a familiar conversation about identity across generations. It considers what happens when the expectations and experiences passed down by family begin to meet the person you are choosing to become. There is no rejection of where she comes from, but rather an understanding that honoring those roots does not mean living within every fear or expectation that came before her.
With szn three, promqueen gives herself permission to exist beyond the versions of herself she once knew. It is an album about the relationships that leave their mark, the family that shapes us, and the uncertainty of figuring out what comes next. Most importantly, it is a reminder that becoming does not always require a leap forward. Sometimes, it simply means giving yourself enough room to bloom.
Follow promqueen and Check Out szn three:
Instagram: saypromqueen
Listen to the album on Spotify
