“It was the start of something great.” Indeed it was: shortly after receiving his diploma, he embarked on his headlining tour, which took him across the United States and to select European cities.

“It was celebratory to me,” Khalid explains. “The hard part always seems to last forever.” True stuff.Fittingly, his next big track, “Let’s Go,” was about graduation. Everybody goes through experiences that make you question yourself, your worth and your purpose. They make you want to cruise down Pacific Coast Highway, sit around a bonfire with your favorite people and find serenity within the madness that surrounds us everyday. The last track “Angels,” can be interpreted as a symbol for rebirth after being “Shot Down.” It’s like all the things that the protagonist went through in the album is finally at peace, accepting his past and looking forward to the present and hoping for “better days.”Īlthough Khalid’s lyrics are at times a stab in the heart, the instrumentals don’t make you feel sad. His delivery grabs the listener’s attention allowing them to dive into a nostalgic world of an American teen.ĭigging deeper into the track-list leads the listener into “Therapy,” “Shot Down” and “Angels.” Such songs remind us of the musical styles of current icons such as Frank Ocean or Sam Smith. Whether it’s that feeling of impulsively wanting to meet someone you’re infatuated with in person instead of throwing little hints via social media (“Location”), heartbreak over someone who you truly believed had better intentions (“Hopeless,” “Saved,” “Coaster”) or lacking financial stability and not caring about it (“Y oung, Dumb & Broke,” “8TEEN.”) Khalid’s delivery on each track is soulful while clearly stemming from R&B, and 80’s new-wave inspiration- an unconventional combination that works beautifully. The first half finds Khali d discussing things teens experience but don’t want to admit.

The El Paso native brings the concepts of love, heartbreak and hope to life in a way no other young artist has managed to do before. So why is it that teenagers (and youn g adults) are finding this kid so ridiculously relatable? What is it about ‘American Teen’ th at makes us want to listen to it on a continuous loop? Themes.

Khalid album cover american teen