Romantic Homicide

Released on July 20, 2022, through DistroKid, "Romantic Homicide" is a bedroom pop track by American singer-songwriter D4vd, born David Burke in Houston, Texas. D4vd recorded the song in his sister's closet on July 13, 2022, and it later appeared as the second single on his debut EP, Petals to Thorns (2023). The song was written by D4vd and Dan Darmawan, who also produced it. Its moody, lo-fi production and raw emotional delivery quickly found an audience on TikTok, where it was featured in over 245,000 clips by September 2022. This viral momentum led to a re-release by Darkroom and Interscope Records.

Lyrically, the song explores the metaphorical "death" of a former lover in the singer's mind. D4vd explained to Genius that the track builds to "the big moment where she died in the back of my mind. I didn't kill her physically, but in the back of my mind, she died." The song samples "In My Head" by Bedroom and "Eu Sei, Eu Sei" by Astha. Its chart performance was notable: it debuted at No. 77 on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 2022, marking D4vd's first entry, and peaked at No. 33 in October 2022. The song was certified Gold by the RIAA on November 16, 2022.

In September 2025, the song experienced a significant resurgence after the tragic discovery of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez's body in a Tesla registered to D4vd. This event drew widespread media attention and renewed streaming interest, propelling the track back onto the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 38. It also climbed to No. 42 on Spotify's Global Top 50 and reached No. 8 on Spotify's U.S. daily songs chart. The official music video, directed by Tommy Kiljoy and released on September 7, 2022, draws inspiration from film noir and anime, featuring an alter ego named Itami (Japanese for "pain"). It has accumulated over 215 million views on YouTube. [edit]