Morgan Lanyon
In the past year, a lot has happened to singer Lea Michele. From filming season 5 of Glee, to losing her long-time boyfriend Cory Monteith to a drug overdose, it seemed like she was handling everything very well. And recently, Michele released her debut album “Louder.” Through this album, she tackles the topic of her lost love, as well as showing that the tragedy she went through hasn’t stopped her from pursuing what she loves.
However, I believe it is both a struggle and a relief for an artist who releases an album following life-altering events. It seems like she is forced into expressing her feelings about the past events and sharing it with the world. She is now stuck in the situation of either venting about her loss, or celebrating the love they shared.
The album has a contemporary pop sound that fans have expected from this star. She hits both high notes that bring chills, as well as fun tunes that get me dancing.
The album’s lead single, “Cannonball” gave me the feeling that this was the song that helped her overcome Monteith’s death. Her soulful lyrics include “I got to get out into the world again” and “I’ll fly like a cannonball.” Its upbeat rhythm shows her coming out of a great defeat with her loss and shining again, creating a sense of self-empowerment.
But the album standout for me was “If You Say So.” The song takes on straight forward the topic of Montieth’s death, and she describes how much she misses him. During the lyrics “I thought we would grow old,” my heart breaks to hear how much pain she is in. The song title is apparently that last thing Monteith said to Michele before he passed, and in memory of him, she has the title “If You Say So” tattooed on her rib-cage.
Michele came out of her struggle with a top-notch album that proves to be both catchy and sentimental. The solid lyrics that she provides proves that she will not let the dark times that have haunted her keep her in a funk. She has shined once again, showing that she isn’t just Rachel Berry, capable of singing only covers, but she is a high caliber artist who loves what she does. This landed “Louder” an A.
