Bright

Album: You Should Be Here (2015)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • 20-year-old Oakland-based R&B singer-songwriter Kehlani sings here struggling with her identity and coming of age in a tough world. She told Billboard magazine the song was partly inspired by the posts she observes on social media. "It's just sad because I see it every day," Kehlani said. "I go on Twitter and I literally see girls posting a picture of one of the Jenners and writing something like 'OMG, my self esteem is gone' or 'Bye, I'm gonna go kill myself now.' That's no joke, you know what I'm saying? People really think like that. They look at hair books and they think that because their hair isn't straight, they're not pretty and they can't be anything. It makes me so sad."
  • The song was also inspired by things that upset Kehlani and made her feel like she wasn't worthy when she was growing up. "I didn't look like what everyone else looked like and I had all these tattoos," the songstress explained. "There are just so many things I've noticed that are wrong and had to be spoken up for, and I felt like the only way to get it across was through songs."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Crystal Waters

Crystal WatersSongwriter Interviews

Waters tells the "Gypsy Woman" story, shares some of her songwriting insights, and explains how Dennis Rodman ended up on one of her songs.

Jon Anderson

Jon AndersonSongwriter Interviews

Jon Anderson breaks down the Yes classic "Seen All Good People" and talks about his 1000 Hands album, which features Chick Corea, Rick Derringer, Ian Anderson, and many other luminaries.

Mike Love of The Beach Boys

Mike Love of The Beach BoysSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer/lyricist of The Beach Boys talks about coming up with the words for "Good Vibrations," "Fun, Fun, Fun," "Kokomo" and other classic songs.

The Fratellis

The FratellisSongwriter Interviews

Jon Fratelli talks about the band's third album, and the five-year break leading up to it.

Leslie West of Mountain

Leslie West of MountainSongwriter Interviews

From the cowbell on "Mississippi Queen" to recording with The Who when they got the wrong Felix, stories from one of rock's master craftsmen.

Lou Gramm - "Waiting For A Girl Like You"

Lou Gramm - "Waiting For A Girl Like You"They're Playing My Song

Gramm co-wrote this gorgeous ballad and delivered an inspired vocal, but the song was the beginning of the end of his time with Foreigner.