<![CDATA[This study aims to identify the types of figurative language, uncover hidden meanings, and determine the most dominant type of figurative language in the song lyrics of Niki Zefanya’s Nicole (2022) album. The method employed is descriptive qualitative with a documentation technique applied to the lyrics of 12 songs within the album, data analysis was conducted by integrating the figurative language theory of Laurence Perrine (1977) and the semantic analysis framework of Geoffrey Leech (1981). The result of the study revealed 23 figurative language expressions classified into eight types: metaphor, hyperbole, simile, personification, symbolism, irony, paradox, and understatment. Metaphor emerged as the most dominant type of figurative language used, accounting for 26.1%, followed by hyperbole at 17.4%. The hidden meanings embedded in the lyrics reflect profound emotional feelings surrounding teenage nostalgia, the pain of heartbreak, geographical alienation, matury gaps, and the cross-cultural identity dynamics of a diaspora artist. This study concludes that figurative language in the Nicole album is not merely a lyrical aesthetic ornament, but serves as a primary cognitive instrument and semantic medium to structure abstract emotional experiences into concrete expressions.]]>
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