Elfi Turns Heartbreak into a Victory Lap on “be careful what you wish for”

Some artists write breakup songs; Elfi writes the kind that feel like you’re running out of the club with your friends, laughing at the drama you used to cry about. Her new single, “be careful what you wish for,” is exactly that kind of moment—big, bright, and strangely liberating.

The Dutch-born, London-based pop storyteller has a knack for turning emotional detours into sparkly anthems, and this one might be her most triumphant yet. What begins as a flashback—returning to a restaurant haunted by an ex—unfolds into a kind of epiphany: maybe the thing you thought you wanted was actually the disaster you’re lucky to have dodged.

Elfi calls it her “favourite song to dance to”, and it shows. The track glows with layered harmonies, that unmistakable cinematic shimmer she loves, and a chorus built to be yelled from the backseat of an Uber at 1 a.m. But beneath the sugar rush, there’s clarity: the moment the rose-coloured filter cracks and you finally see someone—and yourself—without the illusions.

She started writing the song in London, right after that sudden emotional unmasking, then took it to Los Angeles to finish with her dream collaborator, producer John McLucas. Together, they turned her revelation into something euphoric, shaping the track into a celebration of choosing yourself over the chaos you once romanticised.

“be careful what you wish for” also opens the door to Elfi’s new EP 11.11, recorded between Los Angeles, London, and Amsterdam, and polished at the iconic Metropolis Studios. It’s a project that marks a new era for her: self-assured, radiant, and willing to dive right into the messy parts of love to pull out something beautiful.

Warm, cinematic, and gorgeously human, “be careful what you wish for” is less a heartbreak song and more a little victory dance—proof that sometimes losing what you wished for is the luckiest break you’ll ever get.

Email