PopCrush Presents: Nikki Flores

After bopping around the music industry for years, writing hits for the likes of JoJo, Jake Miller, Christina Aguilera and even Japanese pop star Namie Amuro, singer-songwriter Nikki Flores is primed to step out of the shadows—even if her sound is, admittedly, deliciously dark.

In the video for her emotive, smokey single "How To Love Her," premiering exclusively on PopCrush, Flores writhes the pain away to a downpour of skittering mid-tempo R&B beats as she reminisces about her former lover, whose new girl is "reaping the benefits" of the all the work the artist put in to make him a "better man."

"I taught you how to love her / I taught you how to touch her, f--- her, 'cause that's how you used to love me," the singer cries out on the raw, sensual track off her forthcoming XII XV EP, glistening electronic synths crashing down like waves of emotion around her heart-wrenching vocals.

"With 'How To Love Her,' I really wanted to dive even further into the lyrics of the song," Flores tells PopCrush about the clip. "For me, it kind of encompasses that tragic feeling of knowing you helped make somebody better, even if they hurt you, and now someone else is 'reaping the benefits' of that growth. I think a lot of people can relate to that."

"Conceptualizing my first full-length music video for my debut EP has been the most amazing feeling," she adds. "I’m excited to be at a place artistically where I can get what I see in my head onto the screen, and I have to thank my director Danny Williams (Topshelf Junior) for running with my vision. This is the first time I’ve attempted to write a treatment for a video, I was a bit nervous."

Much like with "How To Love Her," hazy alt-pop seems to be Flores' signature: In September, the rising artist released her swirling mid-tempo ballad "Canary," offering a taste of the sweet honey-like sounds to come on her long-awaited debut EP.

Nikki Flores' EP, XII XV, is due out in November. Get into it.