Khalid: American Teen
October 11, 2017
Khalid is a 19 year old singer-songwriter from Georgia. His first and most recent album, American Teen was released in March 2017. The album features slower contemporary/alternative R&B songs that are relatable to teenagers and young adults. The singer-songwriter sings about his own personal experiences about being young and carefree in high school. His songs, “Saved,” “8TEEN,” and “Young Dumb & Broke” are definitely my favorites off the album.
“Saved” is a song about love and ending relationships. It is mellow, but also has a good rhythm and beat. “Saved” is a song that many people can relate to, especially if you’ve ever had to end a relationship, but miss the other person. This song is almost like a story, because as the song goes on, it’s almost as if it’s telling the stages of a break-up. The first verse features the lyric “The hard part always seems to last forever… Sometimes I forget that we aren’t together.” This lyric is the beginning of a break-up. The second verse has the lyric “I erased all the pictures from my phone of me and you.” This part is when you get the courage to delete pictures and memories of the other person in the relationship. Although the chorus of this song is about keeping the other person’s phone number, hoping they’ll call you or you’ll get the confidence to call them, because you still have feelings or miss them. The lyric that made me stop and think is at the end when Khalid sings “I’ll keep your number saved ‘cause I hope one day I’ll get the pride to call you to tell you that I’m finally over you.” This lyric ends the song with the feeling of closure, knowing that you’ve finally let the other person go. Overall, this catchy song made me think of the closure you get after a breakup.
“8TEEN” is the seventh track on the album and is a more upbeat song about being a teenager and what that means. Khalid mentions topics such as his first love, strict parents, and staying out late with friends. I’d like to believe the song is titled “8TEEN” because being eighteen is when you graduate and become more responsible for college or a job. Additionally, you also have to possibly leave your high school friends behind. The song opens up with the lyric “Woke up a little too late this morning, but I think I’ll be okay.” This is about the common sleep deprivation among high school students, another relatable lyric. In the chorus, Khalid touches on living with his strict parents and includes the words “Because I’m eighteen, and I still live with my parents, yeah they’re not like yours, well yours are more understanding.” This lyric talks about staying out late, taking risks, getting caught and possibly evengetting away with things. The second verse mentions not always being the smartest in school and how Khalid’s first love was there with him through the struggles. The second verse closes with the lyric “I wish it were the old days,” and really makes me think about how the artist must miss the days when he had less worries and more fun, since he is older now and has more responsibilities than he did in high school. The lyric that really sums up the song is at the end of the chorus; “So let’s do all the stupid things that young kids do.” This whole song is about being young and doing typical things teenagers do. This song is one of the catchiest songs on the album, and one of my personal favorites.
“Young Dumb & Broke” is the second track on the album, following “American Teen,” the song that shares the same title as the album. “Young Dumb & Broke” is a tribute to youth and having little to care about. Although Khalid believes there’s no need for commitment romantically, he “still got love to give.” The song opens up talking about the ‘broke’ part of the song, and not having enough to sustain a relationship. The chorus is repetitive in mentioning the three words in the title, and closes with the lyric “young dumb broke high school kids,” which can probably sum up many teenagers’ lives while in high school. A key lyric in the second verse is “What’s fun about commitment when we have our life to live?” I interpreted this lyric as Khalid’s way of saying that there’s no rush for committing to anything, whether it be love, college, a job, or anything else teenagers commonly have to commit to.
Overall, I would give ‘American Teen’ a 9/10 because the songs are catchy and relatable, especially to teenagers and young adults. The songs have good beats and give you a ‘live-in-the-moment’ kind of vibe. I really enjoyed this album and can’t wait to see what Khalid releases next.