As she prepares for the release of her debut album GoldenHeart at the top of next year, Dawn Richard cuts loose on her new song “On a String.” The stripped-down record, produced by longtime collaborator Druski, sees Dawn singing about no longer being a puppet in her lover’s game.

“You gave me a stage but you stole the lead/ Said I would be much better behind the scenes/ Living on your string, I’m off your string,” sings the former Dirty Money member.

To hold fans over until her album arrives on January 15, Dawn is readying a Christmas EP to be released around the first week of December.

“The Hearts asked if we were going to do another record like ‘December Sky’ for Christmas,” said Dawn of her 2011 iTunes release. “Drew and I thought why not do an entire EP? It’ll be Christmas records but don’t expect ‘Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire.’ It’s not a traditional Christmas album at all.”