Ah Mer Ah Su’s ‘We Got It All’ Is a Summer Anthem for Finding Hope

Welcome to Pass the Aux, where every week we feature new music by Bay Area artists. Check out past entries and submit a song for future coverage here.

It’s been a summer of mixed, confusing emotions. More people getting vaccinated has made way for happy reunions with friends, live music, backyard parties and all the things we missed during shelter-in-place. But with COVID cases on the rise again—and so many people struggling financially—the pandemic is, sigh, still not over.

Amid the uncertainties, Ah Mer Ah Su recently released “We Got It All,” a summer soundtrack for tapping into gratitude and joy, even if things aren’t perfect. A music video featuring Ah Mer Ah Su and her bestie, musician and dancer Saturn Rising, driving along the California coast perfectly fits the breezy dance pop song. Ah Mer Ah Su’s airy alto floats over twinkling synths, and an ’80s-style drum fill kicks off an anthemic chorus that makes you want to close your eyes, feel the breeze in your hair and let hope buoy your spirit.

Ah Mer Ah Su built the foundation to her career in the Bay Area, where she collaborated with Minna Choi of Magik*Magik Orchestra and filmmaker Annalise Ophelian, and made a major impact on the local LGBTQ+ music and arts scene. She recently started a new chapter in Los Angeles, and “We Got It All” is the lead single from her new EP, Hopefully Limitless.

Produced by Vice Cooler and So Drove, “We Got It All” is bubbly and effervescent, like a drink you’d sip in a pool floatie. But the track isn’t simply carefree. Ah Mer Ah Su sings knowingly and wisely about accepting life’s realities and choosing to dance anyway: “April showers turned to tears on my cheek / We just kept moving to our own beat.”