With a purposefully dainty and precise vocal performance Shelby Carter makes an immediate impression with the first few lines of her newest single “Worst Way”, and she does so in the best possible way, by harmonizing her voice to the themes that slowly reveal themselves through the song.
The clever little track is a pop hitter that got to our hands already packed into a nice music video format. In the video, we follow the story of two friends hiding a secret from their boyfriends. What’s the secret? Well, they’re lovers, and they’re afraid to come out both to them and the rest of the school. What follows is a funny post-modern take on the classic teen movie drama tropes underlined by the giddy and hormonally-charged anxieties and thrills you would expect.
The video is directly inspired by Shelby’s own experience, as she recalls: “It reminds me of my first kiss actually being a girl. I had a crush on this guy at school who wanted to kiss me, and I got so nervous because I didn’t know how to. So one night during a sleepover with my girlfriends, one of my best friends, Daisy, told me she would teach me how to kiss, and we ended up making out for a really long time. Honestly, it was the perfect lesson.”
The song has a very solid Electro-pop foundation groovy enough to command the dancefloor. This base is where the narrative is built by Shelby’s playfulness, as her gorgeous and seductive voice conveys the lyrics with the slinky grace of a prowling cat and the coquettish smirk of a tease playing dumb. I can easily imagine this song fitting beautifully with any runway presentation looking to musicalize those very vibes with their collection.
Shelby is a newcomer onto the scene, though she’s been playing and singing for quite some time, she began her career proper in 2019, which is undoubtedly a rough spot for any artist, while also being a host of strange new opportunities to develop and grow. This rising popstar’s main focus is music that can reach and touch people to bring out the confidence in them, stating: “I want to show people they can do whatever they want,” Further adding. “I put a blockage on myself for so long. As soon as I started believing in myself, I was able to really say something.”
Try as you might, you won’t be able to ignore the hypnotic qualities of “Worst Way”. From the pulsing rhythm to the steamy vocals, the track is designed to draw you in, and keep you locked within its warm depths.
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photos / courtesy of the artist
story / Samuel Aponte
