Nicole (album)

Zefanya stated on social media that the album would be made up of old songs she posted on YouTube in the beginning of her career,[3] saying that she had "quietly been re-recording and reimagining" those songs.[4] While addressing and thanking her social media followers she said that through her YouTube channel, she found her "first creative outlet & community", and that her followers' support "made the dream seem a little less impossible". Zefanya cited the series of re-recorded albums American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift (known as "Taylor's Version") has been releasing as one of the inspirations behind Nicole.[4]

The album features twelve tracks, two of them being the previously released singles "Before" and "Oceans & Engines". On 5 August 2022, a third and final song was released, titled "High School in Jakarta", alongside a music video uploaded on Zefanya's YouTube channel. The title of the album comes from Zefanya's full first name, Nicole.

Khyne Palumar from NME stated, "On Nicole, Zefanya reconnects with her folk-pop roots, ditching the string of co-writers and savvy pop sheen of Moonchild. She instead reproduces songs written in her teens, embracing both raw confessionals and unapologetic schmaltz."[2]

Danielle Chelosky from Uproxx said that the album "feels like a warm welcome. Her recollections of high school can make the listener feel like they're her old friend, and Zefanya is catching them up on what they've missed. Her reckonings with love are often so simultaneously thoughtful and whimsical, approaching Taylor Swift-level genius."[1]