The track is her second single of the year following the release of the brooding ‘Good’
Immediately setting the tone with exciting guitar riffs and pounding rhythms, Hailey Hermida‘s new single ’17’ is a track with a scathing narrative to match its hard-hitting sound, exploring the ways that society will judge young people for the decisions that they make and the paths that they set themselves down when they’re too inexperienced and young to know any better.
Hailey’s impassioned vocal performance and the high-energy, driving nature of the sound do a great job of articulating this exasperation, providing a nice contrast to the more grungy and atmospheric ‘Good’ that came out earlier this year. As the artist releases all of this pent up energy and frustration throughout the track, there is a real sense of catharsis that comes through both the lyrics and the way that she delivers them, and it continues to establish her as a rising young voice in modern music with a relatable and raw sound that listeners can attach themselves to and find parallels with.
“17 was written as a release of anger from the overwhelming judgement cast on you at that age, all while you are your most vulnerable.” Hermida says of the track. “Seventeen is a weird age. Life feels more serious. You make mistakes trying to fill the role of the adult you’re expected to act as, despite still being so young. To make it all so much more confusing, emotions run ten times heavier and harder all while you’re still trying to figure out who you are. So when someone makes false claims about your character, it cuts deep. For me, I felt angry and frustrated. This song is an angry emotional response that I hope everyone who is or has been seventeen can feel and relate to.”
