In “Location,” he speaks to the necessity of both in-person conversation and relational intentionality. In fact, Khalid seems to understand human connection better than most adults.
American Teen could easily create connections between a younger and older audience. It’s a musical nod to Khalid’s beyond-his-years wisdom.
Without the preachiness that overwhelms alternate takes on teen life (see: Christian music, the after-school special, etc.), Khalid looks at the high-school experience with awe and wonder, but also with a disarming, stakes-lowering eye to the future.Īccompanied by synthesizers and drum machines, the album sounds like the Stranger Things soundtrack co-opted by a seasoned R & B singer. The result is a kind of reverse-aspirational musical genre that only affirms what may be a teenager’s worst suspicions about the world: you can’t live without her, you’re all alone, and this is all there is.Īmerican Teen explores the ways these assumptions are misguided. Pop music’s MO has been to apply rather immature teenage “wisdom” to adult situations. They’ve discovered that the way to infuse meaning into life is to just, like, have fun. They’ve determined that no one understands them. They’ve lost (or found) the love of their life. Boy bands, Katy Perry types, and angsty rock musicians all present themselves as thinkers addressing uniquely adult issues. Pop music has tended to overlook this mark of the teen experience. Khalid kicks off the album by acknowledging the transience of teenage life: “Living the good life full of goodbyes.” That transience is an example of one obvious fact of young life: it will be over pretty soon. It dovetailed perfectly with the themes of American Teen, his debut album: the communication crisis-and opportunity-faced by teens in the United States, brought on by social media like Twitter, Facebook, and yes, Snapchat. Having your single featured on a celebrity’s Snapchat is about as perfect a marketing opportunity as Khalid could have gotten.
The single exploded on YouTube and Spotify, and the 19-year-old musician’s tour quickly sold out. Shortly after Khalid released his first single, “Location,” the Kardashian associate posted a Snapchat of herself dancing to the song. You may not have heard of Khalid, but Kylie Jenner has.
0 kommentar(er)
