Did you ever think a 19 year old boy from Georgia could win a Grammy for “Best Urban Contemporary Album” and “Best R&B Song”? Well it happened with Khalid’s first album, “American Teen”, and it changed the way I look at music. 

A few years ago I was looking for music that I could listen to anywhere I wanted. While my mom and I were driving to soccer practice, “Young Dumb & Broke” turned on the radio and I instantly knew I liked it. When I got home, I searched up that song name and realized that there are 14 other songs with almost the same tone.

American Teen is a medium sized album that has a wide variety of songs that you can sing along with in your car (8TEEN), or you can relax on a boat in the summertime (Location). When I went through this album for the sixth or seventh time, I realized that there is not one song that I would refuse to listen to.  

In the first song of the album, “American Teen”, he starts the beat off fast, hyping up everyone that is about to begin his album. The rhythm is a little bit faster than the generic R&B songs because he wants his audience to start the album with a little happier and higher mood. The faster rhythm agrees with the lyrics completely, singing about living your life and being in the moment, not worrying about anything: “And they’re down for the hype/All my boys are with me going up for the night/But who cares, who cares? ‘Cause this is our year” To me, this is just the perfect way to open a Platinum Certified album by telling the listener to sometimes forget about their worries, go do something you like, and enjoy it. 

In the last song of this masterpiece, “Angels”, the rhythm drops to the slowest it has been all album, marking the end of the album and showing the listeners it is done. The tone of the passage is also lower because he writes about people's hard times and how to get through them. He also tells them to not give up and keep on going: “I hope for better days and lately times are tough/The angles give me strength and I’m not giving up/So I wipe away my tears” In his lyrics, he tells us that life for him is not the greatest right now but he is still persevering through and trying his best. 

Lastly, from my favorite song of this album, “Saved,” he tells us that not everything is meant to be and you can’t do anything about it. This rhythm is the catchiest out of all of them because he wants to nail the lyrics into everyone's heads that talks about not giving up. The tone of this song is also super up-beat, with a fast rhythm and a melody you can remember. He voices that even when you can give it your all, you may not get the response you are looking for: “Deep down in my heart, I hope you’re doing alright/But from time to time, I often think of why you aren’t mine/But I’ll keep your number saved/’Cause I hope one day you’ll get the sense to call me” 

American Teen has no flows and is all around a near perfect album. There is a song for every emotion that you are feeling at that moment and if you just listen to the lyrics, it can tell you that others feel the same and you should embrace it. American Teen is not just an album for people seeking comfort or a way to not feel alone, you can also jam out to the beat and sing along with your friends.