“The mix of vocals and instruments here is excellent, accompanied by lyrics that tell both a story of a confusing romance and a realisation that perfection is unrealistic.”
It’s been a month since Electro-Pop singer Sharl released her fabulously melodic debut single Let Me Know, and to the excitement of her fans she has now returned with a second terrific tune entitled That Girl which circulates the current Tiktok/Instagram/Pinterest trend of being ‘that girl’ who fits every aesthetic and is practically perfection. Trends like these have darker realities when people feel pressured to follow them, and can lead to things such as eating disorders and whitewashing. Sharl also adds a romantic relationship layer to this song, tackling feelings of unrequited love and bittersweet pain.
Suspense is built with a dramatic intro that fades into three significant notes that dominate the chorus. Whispering backing vocals follow, making you realise that the production here is absolutely genius. How each verse flows into each chorus and vice versa is incredible. How Sharl’s angelic vocals express such lyrics of self reflection and realisation is beautiful.
In an interview with MEI Recordings, Sharl explained the meanings behind That Girl, saying “There are actually two layers to the meaning of the song. The more obvious top layer is the story told throughout the whole song of unrequited feelings, and the time spent with someone being bittersweet and painful because it’s one sided.” She then went on to explain the other layer of the song relating to the ‘That girl’ trend, stating that “When I saw it, at first, I thought that’s great! I definitely want to be ‘That Girl’! The activities are mostly positive, healthy things to do. However, on closer inspection, it’s a movement that promotes an unrealistic level of perfection, and no one can be perfect all the time. So then I thought: whatever, I’m kinda close enough! But later, I actually decided that I didn’t want to engage with that social pressure at all, hence the line ‘I don’t wanna be that girl’ was born.”
How Sharl has managed to create a song just as fabulous as her first single whilst them both being the embodiment of two different topics and each having their own original sounds, I don’t know. It looks as if her upcoming album City Lights will display of range of different electronic/indie/dance themes whilst still parading her true calling of pop music.
You can listen to the song here:
And here:
Love the lyric – strong girl.
Love the beat and the voice. Excellent song.