One way to catch the attention of this generation is naming your song after a pop-culture figure. Nico Collins did this in the most unexpected, yet brilliant way. His new single is entitled “Hannah Montana”. As in Miley Cyrus’s alter-ego from the hit Disney Channel show of the same name. Hannah Montana was a staple in many young people’s childhood. But like Hannah herself, her millions of fans have grown up and so has Collins. He sings about the difficulties of being a young adult in Los Angeles trying to make it in the entertainment business. He expresses his deep loathing of the shallow, vain aspects of the industry and how you have to change yourself to fit the mold. He then goes on to sing about how “talent’s overrated, and morals are dead” because in the industry, you only need to sleep with someone who has connections to get ahead. Hollywood has shattered Collins’s self-confidence and mental health. The bridge ends with “L.A. fucked me up”. He sings that he is living like Hannah Montana, because he feels like he is living a double-life where he does not even know himself anymore.
“Hannah Montana” is not only nostalgic in the name, but in the lyrics and special sound effects as well. The song begins with Miley Cyrus’s infamous melody of “oohs” and “aahs” heard during scene transitions on the show. The song ends with her infamous laugh in the theme song, “Best of Both Worlds”. A lyric in the second verse even references the theme song, stating others are telling him that “Hollywood is dope! It’s the best of both worlds”, even if he does not believe it himself. Collins made sure to include these details to excite fans of the show, while getting his point across that he is not actually living the best of both worlds as a pop star. This song is pop with an element of alternative rock that the listener will have stuck in their head for days after listening.
Nico Collins is a 25-year-old American singer-songwriter. He is best known for his YouTube channel where he posts his original singles, as well as remixes to popular songs. He has over 263,000 subscribers on YouTube and nearly 1-Million-month listeners on Spotify. In 2021, Collins released an acoustic EP of 5 of his stand-alone singles. He describes his music as pop, with influences of other genres such as alternative rock, hip-hop, and R&B.
Written By Karlee Smith
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