D’Amelio’s debut single is topping billboards and crushing competition but does not offer any real musical intrigue.
TikTok, the sensational social media app that allows users to share and view short videos, has thrusted a host of individuals into the spotlight of fame. Among those most brightly illuminated by TikTok’s searing beam of celebrity is the charismatic and easy-going Dixie D’Amelio. She first started gaining popularity in early 2020 and has now amounted to over beam of celebrity is the 34.6 million followers on the app. Though she was first known as Charli D’Amelio’s older sister, she has, since then, has created a name for herself by releasing her own single, “Be Happy.” To date, this song has accumulated close to 40 million streams on Spotify, 80 million views on YouTube, and has cracked the top charts in the US. An impressive feat for someone who, prior to TikTok, was completely unknown to the world. Does “Be Happy” have the musical intrigue to warrant the tremendous amount of attention it has been receiving?
The song opens with an acoustic guitar repeating a simple riff accompanied by D’Amelio’s average vocals. In a flurry, the addition of snaps on the two and four along with a basic rhythm from a kick drum, a rhythmic drive takes over causing us to unconsciously start tapping our foot. We are then sent into the pre chorus where the atmosphere changes and becomes more spacious as we lose the rhythmic drive provided by the snaps and kick drum. After a short rest we are launched into the celebrated chorus where D’Amelio sings ‘Sometimes I don’t wanna be happy’ complimented by an energetic musical accompaniment. The lyrics are quite sad as D’Amelio speaks about her struggles with depression and tries to communicate this idea in a playful way, through the use of an upbeat and catchy instrumental track. D’Amelio uses the upbeat and catchy vibe of the song in order to show how our generation often deals with depression, through the use of humor or making their struggles sound more jovial than they actually are. The upbeat nature allows the true meaning of the song to be concealed underneath the music, a similar technique many individuals in our generation employ in order to conceal their depression. At best this is a mediocre attempt at creating what feels like a generic pop song. Though it has a catchy hook and has clearly been professionally mixed and mastered, D’Amelio’s vocals are quite insipid. Despite the generic nature of this pop song with no real appeal, it has managed to climb the charts and experience huge amounts of success, thus showing the power social media fame has nowadays and how it has completely revolutionized the music industry. Without the existence of TikTok, artists like D’Amelio would stand no chance at receiving the kind of success she has. In the global romper room of TikTok being followed is better – and more lucrative – than leading. Starry-eyed influencers like D’Amelio can seamlessly transition from one form of entertainment to another and experience tremendous amounts of success, regardless of whether or not they possess any real talent.