SONG REVIEW - Lillian Hepler’s “Famous”
Kenzie Gay - @kenzwrites
Let it be. It’s not only a timeless classic by The Beatles but it’s also become a monumental slogan symbolic of allowing oneself to take things as they come rather than dwelling on others’. It’s a token of control or rather, lake thereof, particularly the acceptance of it. It might be a clever saying but in terms of principle, it can be difficult to live by. Especially when it boils down to relationships, those that have ended roughly. Whether it is platonic or romantic, it sucks to have a relationship end on poor terms. You can’t help but feel some sort of bitterness because of unresolved matters; the unfairness of it all is the cherry on top when it comes to the other person not reaping what they’ve sewn.
Lillian Hepler, an up and coming pop artist forged from the fires of Utah, knows all too well about the confliction of letting things be and moving forward from broken relationships. At just 22 years old, she’s touched on mature themes like heartbreak, friendship, and more. With her newest single titled Famous, she dives into the exact scenario we’ve been talking about with her own story-telling spin.
Famous: A Single Review
Famous opens up with a melancholic and pensive cadence courtesy of Hepler’s stationary vocals and the backing keyboard track. It sounds like the type of piece you’d hear during a reflective scene in a movie with an arc shot; similar to that of the infamous Twilight scene with Lykke Li’s Possibility.
The song picks up into an in-your-face pop number that reeks of vengeful feelings. Hepler directly addresses her ex in the lyrics, claiming that she’d love nothing more than to air out all of his wrongdoings but that would do nothing but give him attention, making him famous, which is the last thing she wants to do for him.
“Shouldn’t have to explain. You should be ashamed every time you drop my name. I would call you out but I don’t wanna make you famous. Write you in a song but why should they know what your name is?”
With a vocal style that’s uncannily similar to Demi Lovato’s, Hepler and her work remind me of the pop n roll movement of the 2010s that combined the simplistic sound elements found in pop music with the rip-roaring energy of rock. Famous poses as a powerful anthem for anyone who’s ever been cheated on or done wrong by an ex; an ode to the stage of healing that teeters between revenge and sorrow.
After the release of Famous, Hepler’s next steps in the music business are unknown to the general public. This is her third single from 2024 alone following House of Lies and Call Me Yours which has listeners anticipating a possible EP or album later on with the coming months.
