Greyson Chance - shut up - Single [Review]

Pop musician Greyson Chance is soon to be releasing Portraits, his sophomore studio album following the 2011 album Hold on 'til the Night, and "shut up" is said to be the album's lead single. I previously wrote a review of his recently released single "Twenty One" in which I identified that as the first single from Portraits, but I was apparently mistaken because it has since been reported that this is the lead single, so I don't know if that means that "Twenty One" will still be on the album but be considered more of a promotional single or if it is not being included on the album at all and will be yet another standalone single, but at any rate, I apologize for the inaccurate information. "shut up" begins with Greyson's soulful falsetto singing the song's chorus a cappella: "I cannot hold my tongue; you give me much to say. I'm sweating bullets, nervous that you'll push away, and when your eyes catch mine, I know I talk too much, so give me your two lips, and baby, I'll shut up." When I first learned that the new single would be titled "shut up," I assumed that the song would be feisty and rebellious (refer to this as an example), but it's not; it's a cute and emotional love song about that nervous and jittery feeling at the very beginning of a relationship or love affair. The chorus of the song is great, but my favorite part of the song is actually the verses, during which Greyson drops back down to his more natural vocal range and describes the boy for whom he is falling: "You dress in all black, the middle of the summer. You're smoother than you think. You rock that Alex Turner" (that last sentence being a reference to the frontman of Arctic Monkeys). I love the verses not only because of the lyrics but also because there is a gentle and subtle piano accompaniment that reminds me a great deal of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, one of my favorite pieces of music of all time, and it surprisingly fits Greyson's youthful pining and longing in this song perfectly. Even though I am gradually losing faith in the possibility of ever finding "the one" myself, I do understand the feeling that Greyson is describing in this song all too well because it's how I felt when I fell in love with the man whom I was convinced I was going to marry (which was now a decade ago), and it's because of songs like Greyson Chance's "shut up" that restore the slightest bit of hope needed to keep dreaming.