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

Jonathan Edwards - "Sunshine"

Jonathan Edwards - "Sunshine"They're Playing My Song

"How much does it cost? I'll buy it?" Another songwriter told Jonathan to change these lyrics. Good thing he ignored this advice.

Gilby Clarke

Gilby ClarkeSongwriter Interviews

The Guns N' Roses rhythm guitarist in the early '90s, Gilby talks about the band's implosion and the side projects it spawned.

Curt Kirkwood of Meat Puppets

Curt Kirkwood of Meat PuppetsSongwriter Interviews

The (Meat)puppetmaster takes us through songs like "Lake Of Fire" and "Backwater," and talks about performing with Kurt Cobain on MTV Unplugged.

David Bowie Leads the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Long-Haired Men

David Bowie Leads the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Long-Haired MenSong Writing

Bowie's "activist" days of 1964 led to Ziggy Stardust.

Movie Stars In Music Videos

Movie Stars In Music VideosSong Writing

Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie, Mila Kunis and John Malkovich are just a few of the film stars who have moonlighted in music videos.

Kim Thayil of Soundgarden

Kim Thayil of SoundgardenSongwriter Interviews

Their frontman (Chris Cornell) started out as their drummer, so Soundgarden takes a linear approach when it comes to songwriting. Kim explains how they do it.