#3
Drew Barrymore
9.372
Highest score: 11 x 4 (
@Jwentz,
@LE0Night,
@lalaclairi_,
@K94)
10 x 22 (
@Petty Mayonnaise,
@constantino,
@Vitamin,
@TRAVVV,
@digitalkaiser,
@CorgiCorgiCorgi,
@Bangers&Bops,
@Remorque,
@Solenciennes,
@ufint,
@R92,
@JamesJupiter,
@kermit_the_frog,
@ohnostalgia,
@Kuhleezi,
@happiestgirl,
@Posh Spears,
@Heaven on Earth,
@AshleyKerwin,
@1991,
@He)
Lowest scores: 6.5 x 1 (
@A&E)
5.5 x 1 (
@KingBruno)
5 x 1 (
@BML)
My score: 10
Track background: Named after
the actress, who even appeared in a brief cameo in the single’s official video, “Drew Barrymore” is track four on
Ctrl. Written by SZA alongside Macie Stewart, as well as The Antydote and Carter Lang, (with the latter two providing production for the track), it was released as the album’s lead single on January 13th, 2017, with its aforementioned music video later finding its way to Youtube on June 20th, 2017.
My thoughts: Love, love, LOVE this.
One of the ways that she describes this/the relation to the title is how she constantly felt like the character that Drew Barrymore would play in films, specifically
Josie Gellar in Never Been Kissed.
“SZA has previously mentioned that she is a big fan of the actress and her favorite Barrymore film is Never Been Kissed. "When I was watching Never Been Kissed … that’s my experience. I was hella outcast in school," she told Vulture earlier this month. "I was watching it like, ‘Yes! Win for all of us!’””
Which, in ways, I can definitely relate to. Growing up was awkward being both brown and queer but also not skinny, especially as a Midwestern high school student.. hell, even college too. A lot of the anxieties and self-esteem issues that Solána sings/talks about are things that I know that
I dealt with, both as an adolescent, but even now, sailing toward year number thirty. And from how the album has been almost a refuge for so many here (as the album thread will attest, as well as other posts in various places around the forum, too), as well as those who have bought & streamed the LP, it’s clear that her voice and perspective are both universal yet unique. This is probably top three on the album for me, sitting pretty next to “Supermodel” and “Garden” as tracks that really evidence how strong our need to be validated by our lovers can be, and even further, how that need should one day be fulfilled by us, ourselves. To see it land here is major vindication, especially for how some of the other tracks on
Ctrl fared.
Go, SZA.
Your thoughts:
@Jwentz (11) -
The way SZA vaults into the chorus like she's yelling her question off the top of a mountain is just everything to me. Someone has asked on the forum before if this samples some long lost song out of the era of 90's singer songwriters and it truly has that quality while feeling entirely fresh.
@lalaclairi_ (11) -
This could easily fit in as a theme for a 90s/early 2000s indie movie and that makes me love it even more.
@TRAVVV (10) - This is my favorite song of the year. It successfully captures such a heartbreaking moment in a funny, casual, and sexy way.
@Bangers&Bops (10) - Nothing but sluggish R&B stylings with lush lyrics. This is a personal favorite of mine from the album.
@Kuhleezi (10) - I still remember listening to this during the past chilly (not actually that cold) winter, and now that temperatures are getting lower again I get the same sense of warmthness that made me fall in love so much. For whatever it's worth, this song is warm enough for me Solana!
@happiestgirl - I love her relatable stream of conscious schtick
@Posh Spears (10) - I’m not crying you are! Seriously anyone who doesn’t think this song is beautiful needs to stop playing around.
@He (10) - that chorus!!
@ohnostalgia (10) - That chorus is divine. That’s really all that needs to be said.
@constantino (10) - As an avid follower and supporter of female artists, I often have a moment of ‘fuck this, I can’t keep waiting for her label to drop her album’. After months of watching Solána tease CTRL with no concrete information, I decided to take a step back, unfollow her social media and stop hoping that the album would come. Soon after, she came the fuck through and dropped one of the best songs of the year in the form of Drew Barrymore, and all was right again. Everything about this, from the production to her vocals, just feel so special - so special that I knew that her breakthrough was approaching and it was so exciting to watch.
@Solenciennes (10) - Love the conversational tone to the lyrics and the chorus is such an earworm. “I get so lonely, I forget what I’m worth” is the self-help lyric I wish I’d had to refer to when I was last going through a rough patch. The song is such a triumph and just the fact it’s named after such a dorky, brilliant actress with such a volatile history of struggles yet who seems to have come out the other side just fine brings such a huge a smile to my face and thus explains the drive behind the song. Perfect.
@Trouble in Paradise (8.5) - Love the lyrics, her voice sounds impeccable. The bridge is a vocal highlight, almost Marina-esque if that's possible.
Music video/live performances:
