Saturday, November 6, 2021

Greyson Chance - Overloved - Single [Review]

Earlier this year (in June), American pop musician Greyson Chance released the follow-up to his 2019 album portraits, this one titled Trophies. As a big fan of Greyson, I was excited about a new album being released but was disappointed when the album only ended up including eight tracks, one of which is a very short track at only one minute in length making the release more of an EP than an album. Especially disappointing, however, was the absence of previously promised inclusions such as "Dancing Next to Me," "Honeysuckle," "Bad to Myself," and "Overloved," with the exclusion of "Overloved" probably disappointing me the most because we had not yet heard a studio version of the song. Several months later, however (in September), Chance finally released the song as yet another standalone single, and although I still wish that it had been included on Trophies (especially since that would have made Trophies a more complete work), I am really happy that we finally have a studio version of the song, especially because it's such a beautiful song. "Overloved" is a piano ballad that eventually brings in a steady but soft beat as well as what sounds like a small choir underneath Chance's voice, which stays in mid-range throughout the entirety of the track. It is lyrically pretty straightforward, a love letter to a lover (it's unclear as to whether or not it's about his current boyfriend Ben, given the age of the song) whose touch makes Greyson feel... you guessed it - overloved. It's interesting because I think that this song is the first time that I have seen the word overloved used. The over part implies that it's excessive in a negative way, but he doesn't seem to mean it in a negative way; the lover addressed in the song seems to make Greyson feel blessed, and like "Holy Feeling," in fact, there is a religious reference used in the song when, at the end of the first verse, he sings, "There's a reason why you left your ex at that church. Keep on praying for forgiveness." Since releasing "Overloved," Greyson has released yet another standalone single titled "8Track," but it is unfortunately exclusive to Spotify, and I use YouTube Music. I can't understand a decision like that which alienates a large portion of your fanbase, but here is to hoping that it eventually gets a wider release.