Hello, all! Hope you’re having a good Sunday. 🙂
This week’s “Song Sunday” is a track from earlier this year, but I’m still listening to it, even months later. From German DJ Zedd, American singer Maren Morris, and American music duo Grey, “The Middle” is a seemingly unassuming, but effective ear-worm that talks about a relationship gone sour, but in the hopes of repairing it by “meeting in the middle.”
Now, I know that many people might find this track derivative of what Zedd had put out the year before, called “Stay” with Alessia Cara. From the beats to lyrics to overall production, it might seem that Zedd was running out of ideas and made a somewhat lackluster sequel to the 2017 song.
I admit, the first few listens to “The Middle” didn’t impress me, as I not only found it too similar to “Stay,” but also flat in musicality, as there seems to be no big drop or notable turning point in the track. However, weirdly enough, it became one of those songs that I found myself continuing to listen to again and again– fast-forward several months later, and it still remains on my music playlist.
Perhaps what makes “The Middle” long-lasting to me is its low-key catching tune, with the beats resembling that of clocks that propel the song forward. Morris, the singer herself, adds a subtle, but notable twist to the song’s genre– as she’s known for being a country singer, listeners can hear the slight twang throughout, even though I think she was going for a more-retro feel. Either way, the song makes use of repetition and numerous sounds (e.g. clocks, synths, etc.) to slide into the listeners’ ears and otherwise “hypnotize” them with a low-key 2018 hit.
You may also check out the actual music video for “The Middle” (although I much prefer the lyrics’ version):
Feel free to give this song a listen. Enjoy your Sunday!
— The Finicky Cynic
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The Finicky Cynic 
Target used this song in one of its ads and it became an instant earworm.
I heard of that! Pretty cool. 🙂