The lonely American Teen: Khalid releases his new album Free Spirit.

 

Many musicians struggle to produce a hit record, however in Khalid’s case he has produced two. His first album was very popular named American teen, two years later he released this album to please his generation Z listeners.

Khalid Donnel Robinson is a popular American singer and songwriter. His songs consist mostly of Pop and R&B music. Khalid’s soothing voice grabs his fans’ attention and is a huge factor of what drove his new album called Free Spirit to be number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.

At the age of 21, this singer-songwriter’s has sold millions of his debut album American Teen released in 2017. In his second studio album, Free Spirit, Khalid emphasizes maturity, relationship issues and heartbreak, expressing what seems to help him get through some of his tough times. The tone of his album sets a relatable mood for young people that may be in similar stages of relationships and issues. This attracts and sets a mood for post-millennials.  

In “Intro,” he questions what happened with his lover and their mindset, but other songs like “Better”, “Bad Luck” and “My Bad” sound as if he is talking about conflicts throughout his relationships. The rest of the tracks lead into a more original sound of his smooth flow of modern R&B rhythm.

This album is accompanied with a short video also called “Free Spirit” which follows the story line of Ladybug, a high school student who lives in a troubled household and chooses to run away with her friends and move to the city. In the video, many of Khalid’s songs are referenced like “Paradise” and “Alive.” The main message in this is that ladybug and her friends thought of “Pure Happiness” and the idea of having a “Free Spirit.”

When I listen to Khalid’s music, I feel as if everything is calm and laid back. I play Khalid’s album on shuffle at least twice a day. His voice has a stress relieving sound that feels like something I can take a deep breath and close my eyes to. In one of his songs called “Better” the main chorus says, “nothing feels better than this.” As I hear this song, I imagine I clear all the thoughts out of my head and live in the moment. In that moment nothing can beat what I am feeling and nothing feels better than this moment in time. His overall still and steady tone sounds like an old R&B song like “Unbreak My Heart” by Toni Braxton mixed with a bit of a twist on Post Malone. This album goes deep into the heart and touches a connection that people can relate to.

His new album does not have the usual tone of any average pop musician. It is less vulgar than some pop music like Bruno Mars’ lyrics on “Locked Out of Heaven” and “Chunky.”

Not everyone has the same reaction. A classmate says, “His music puts me in a depressing mood so I don’t like listening to it.” While another classmate disagrees saying, “His music generates a calm mood.”

Khalid’s music has always caught my attention since he first released “Location” in 2017. Since then, I found his songs to be more and more relatable as I go through the teenage years of my life. Afterall, you can still hear the positive side to coming of age, how the memories of friendships and high school faded away and got filled up with managers and people he can never fully trust. He is honest about the changes and reality of life. This album is an example of what a great generation of pop music relies on and how a young singer can express himself freely through his music.

 

Image credit: BlueWater