Greyson Chance - Athlete [from Songs from Love, Victor] / Bad to Myself - Single [Review]

I am reviewing these two songs from American pop musician Greyson Chance together because they were released relatively close to each other. "Athlete" was released in June of this year, and "Bad to Myself" was released in August of this year, a couple of months later. (It is November now, and I am just now reviewing them because of how busy that I have been.) "Athlete" is featured on a single of only three tracks titled Songs from Love, Victor which acts as the soundtrack to the new Hulu series Love, Victor, a spinoff of the 2018 film Love, Simon. The single features songs from Tyler Glenn, Greyson Chance, and Isaac Dunbar, but as a fan of Greyson Chance (much of whose work I have reviewed here), I will be focusing exclusively on the second track, "Athlete." "Athlete" reminds me a bit of Chance's cover of "Hungry Eyes," since it does have a bit of a retro '80s style to it. The song starts on low synths with Chance's vocals soon coming in, beginning low and then rising up into falsetto, showcasing the singer's impressive range. The song is a pretty slow ballad with synth, a light beat, and a soulful air. It lyrically seems to be about being in love with or at least having feelings for a man whose sexual orientation the speaker isn't sure of. "You are an athlete," Chance sings dreamily in the chorus, "and I need you the most, and I want you on my team." It isn't likely (although it is possible) that Chance wrote the song about an actual athlete but is rather referring to the love interest as such to fit the team metaphor. When people talk about sexual orientation, they sometimes refer to it as which team you're batting for. By Chance saying that he wants this person on his team, he is essentially (at least in regards to the way that I interpret the song) saying that he hopes that this person is androsexual so that he has a chance of being with him. My favorite part of the song is the synthy instrumental break near the end when there is a little less than a minute left.

"Bad to Myself" is not featured on a soundtrack but rather is probably a single from the singer's upcoming second studio album. (It will officially be his third studio album counting 2011's Hold on 'til the Night, but Chance, understandably so, tends to disregard that album and consider 2019's portraits to be his debut. It isn't that Hold on 'til the Night features bad music, but it was long before he had come out as gay and wasn't really given the chance to explore his true self through the lyrics, many of which he didn't even write.) Greyson revealed around the time that "Bad to Myself" was released that he has been struggling with anorexia disorder for several years and that that is, in part, what inspired this song. It's a piano pop song not unlike a good deal of what he has done in the past, and it reminds me of the likes of The Fray, Gavin DeGraw, and other piano-driven rock acts in a similar vein. Something that I really appreciate about the song is the fact that there seems to be a small choir layered underneath Chance's vocals in the chorus, boosting the song and making it pretty powerful (although I still personally consider "Good as Gold" to be his most emotional and powerful song, as it even frequently makes me cry). He has frequently sang about his habitual drinking in the past on songs such as "Twenty One" and "stand," but he opens this song by declaring that he's "done with the drinking, falling flat on my face, wasted..." The song is a love letter to himself, promising not to self-sabotage anymore: "Lately, I'm so damn tired," he sings in the powerful melody of the chorus, "of being bad to myself..." I also love how in the bridge close to the end of the song, Greyson sings, "Even through all four seasons, fighting for my new freedom," as this is likely a reference to his song "Seasons" (or as its titled on the re-recorded version on portraits, "seasons nineteen"). This now makes five singles that he has released since the end of the portraits era, so I am really hoping for the album to drop soon!