IDA’s song Asta is a touching and honest look into the messy, beautiful, and sometimes painful nature of girlhood friendships. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of a deep connection between two girls, full of joy, chaos, and contradictions. Through simple yet emotional words, IDA tells a story that feels deeply personal while also being easy to relate to, especially for young women who have lived through similar bonds.

The book opens in poetic outline of Asta, delineated in dreamily, uncertain terms. Unapproachable, she is, but irresistible, standing out as one gets attracted towards her. This is the backdrop for the entire book, where Asta looms larger than the friend, she is the epitome of the entire of the good confusion of the girl in one’s growth. IDA doesn’t discuss the issue of the issue of the issue of the problem of friendship, she discusses the issue of the issue of identity, of belonging, of emotional survival.

IDA describes Asta as her “favourite disaster,” which is the best summary of the track. Asta brings happiness as well as tears, light as well as darkness. This leads to the complication of the friends’ relationship. It’s not one large party session—the arguments, jealousy, as well as misconceptions, all of this is present in it. Nevertheless, amid all the highs as well as lows, IDA shows immense love as well as adoration for Asta. Even when she quarrels with her, there is always the feeling the relationship strengthens.

The songs also invoke the need to belong. IDA addresses the hurt of one’s place in the clique, in particular in front of the other girls. We witness the immediate tension of the need to belong played out against the fear of exclusion or mockery. The piece doesn’t hesitate to reveal the raw, ugly way in which young friendships sometimes act—the pace at which everything develops, the hurt that is inflicted, the way friendships can come apart for seemingly no reason at all. And it is all presented in beauty in the same moments: dancing at the beach, wearing daisies in one’s hair, keeping secrets. These photographs inject levity as well as warmth in response to the dark of the piece.

Throughout the songs, IDA contrasts in response in attempts at capturing the rollercoaster of feeling of having the experience of being friends. Sweets and anger share the same sentence. They hug one moment, yell the next moment after that. These extremes of feeling feel true, at least for anyone who has had the hyper-emotions of the teenager as a girl. IDA doesn’t judge it all, either—rather, she revels in it all. Asta was hard to handle, but she was unforgettable, of all things, Asta made IDA’s childhood a little happier.

That the IDA keeps returning, in the chorus, reinforces the emotions. With every return of “Asta, my favourite disaster,” she continually reminds us of the way in which this relationship meant, as flawed as it was. This returning verse of dreams in Asta’s hair is compelling in particular—one can measure the degree to which this human is connected in to IDA’s hopes as well as memories.

In Asta, IDA manages to tell a story that feels both personal and universal. The lyrics are heartfelt and honest, filled with love, frustration, and longing. By focusing on a single relationship, IDA opens a window into the wider world of girlhood, where friendships shape who we are. The song feels like a thank-you letter to someone who mattered, someone who helped her survive the chaos of growing up.