Conan Gray’s newest song “Yours” is familiar but brilliant, painful but validating and emotional yet simple. It is a powerful, soulful ballad about giving too much to a person who doesn’t deserve it or may not even notice you at all. Overall, the composition is simple but by no means in a negative way. This song will lead to either sobbing on the floor in a dark room or empathizing with the memories of one’s past self. Either way, there are a lot of strong feelings of validation and even healing.
“Yours” is the second single off of Gray’s second album “Superache,” set to be released June 24. Just in time for summer heartache, this song is only the beginning of another hit album. Once again, Gray is serving raw power, emotion and everything else we expect from the king himself. “Yours” is very on brand for Gray while also being a little different from his previous hits. It has the familiar feeling of Gray’s songs, but it still manages to keep the listener interested.
The first 15 seconds consist of a delicate repeating piano riff. Gray’s vocals follow the piano in a repetitive flow of ups and downs. It makes the song instantly memorable. His voice is so unique with this song making it especially noticeable. His belting along with his vocal cracks are incredible. It sounds so gorgeous, yet the pain in his voice is hard to ignore and adds a deeper element of beauty.
The musical elements are really just his vocals going back and forth with the piano. It is very simple, but the power and depth of his voice fill up any feeling of emptiness. However, the bridge is a completely different story. Drums are added in. The melody and speed completely change. The bridge is a small blip in comparison to the rest of the song, and it is gone almost as soon as it starts. The ending to the song is very abrupt, leaving the listener begging for more.
Lyrically the song is simple, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The rhyme scheme flows together easily and the lyrics are very memorable, therefore easy to scream-cry to:
“I know I’m not the one you really love/I guess that’s why I’ve never given up/’Cause I could give you all you want/The stars and the sun, but still, I’m not enough.”
“Oh, all I really wanted was that look in your eyes/Like you already know that I’m the love of your life/Like you already know you’re never saying goodbye.”
It’s like Gray is singing directly to anyone suffering from the sorrow that is unrequited love. Gray has ripped the sore back open, but even still it is hard to be mad. It is hard to feel alone when Gray is validating each heartache from our youth note by note and taking the pain away breath by breath.
The music video is simple, but it matches the song. The beginning is blurred, and clarity is added as Gray starts to sing. We see him in beautiful flower fields, alternating between pink and red and yellow and white flowers. Sometimes he is still, other times he is walking or swinging. The music video itself is nothing too special, but again it does not need to be super complex because Gray’s voice is the main focus. That being said, there are some special moments in the music video; for instance, he is always in a rose field, hinting at a lyric in the bridge and what seems to be a symbol of the “Superache” album as a whole.
“I should’ve known that it was dumb love/15 dozen roses/All the things that I’ve done for you not to notice.”
Adding to the symbolic roses, the last scene of the music video is Gray laying on the floor next to an outline of a human body made up of red rose petals. As the last note hits, the flower petal person blows away as Gray holds its hand. It is a powerful image, and it is hard not to succumb to an overwhelming feeling of loneliness as the music video fades.