Summer Walker has spent over half a decade crafting a trilogy of albums that map heartbreak, desire and messy love in intoxicating detail. Whether you fell in love with the lovesick candour of 2019’s ‘Over It’ or 2021’s ‘Still Over It’ for its alchemic transformation of heartbreak into alt-R&B gold, the 29-year-old singer has crafted records that sits comfortably within the pantheon of modern R&B classics. And on ‘Finally Over It’, the final instalment in the series, Walker feels unshackled for the first time, no longer haunted by her public break-ups.
Walker, who has gripped the R&B world with confessional, lived-in lyrics over lush, seductive instrumentals, has always been a tragic character of sorts – a bit like the late Anna Nicole Smith, whom she embodies on the album art. From the first violin wail of disc one – the “For Better” section – you expect her to come out swinging with gutsy, candid emotion, shoving her heart in your hand and forcing you to listen to her velvet voice. And she does – even if the features bog her down.
‘Robbed You’ tries to recreate the sugarcoated violence of ‘Over It’ standout ‘I’ll Kill You’, but instead of being so in love that you’d kill your partner if they leave, Walker sings in her signature feisty way of being so frustrated after the break-up that robbing her partner would have been more beneficial. Though, where Jhene Aiko slipped in perfectly on ‘I’ll Kill You’, Mariah The Scientist’s stoic energy dulls what could have been a thrilling highlight.
We are also robbed of a girl anthem on ‘Go Girl’: Walker’s rap is lethargic, Latto fumbles in this languid world and Doja Cat is too late to save the dreary song. But, ‘Baby’ with Chris Brown is the most polarising moment, because the latter is flat when doubling the chorus with Walker – wasting the sample of Mariah Carey’s ‘Always Be My Baby’ – but the melody is so hypnotic, you’ll sway and roll your shoulders in an unexpected Uno reverse moment that (kinda) works.
But if you make it past that shmuck, then you’ll be rewarded on disc two – the “For Worse” section – where the emotions are more nuanced and realistic. The witty ‘How Sway’ with SAILORR hilariously flips the infamous Kanye West meme with the shimmery warmth of classic R&B. Walker and Brent Faiyaz extend their reign as the King and Queen of toxic balladry with ‘Number One’. And we finally get that girl anthem with ‘Baller’, where Southern floor-shakers GloRilla, Sexyy Red and Monaleo stand tall with their own rhythms, injecting fun and individuality into this full-throttle celebration of feminine badassery.
‘Stitch Me Up’ is the album’s most powerful ballad: a raw, autobiographical cry for help, turned into collective catharsis over pleading guitar and bursting cymbals. “I know that it’s wrong, but that’s how I was taught,” Walker confesses, “Gave my heart once before, and all it got was torn.” The song embodies the emotional heart of the whole ‘Over It’ trilogy. Love has never been easy for Walker: every breakup has been a public spectacle plastered across social media, so she’s been forced to break and rebuild repeatedly under a microscope in front of the world. But now, she’s found her autonomy. Where Anna Nicole wasn’t allowed peace, Walker has traded tragedy for her own agency and, at last, she can finally be over it.
