Exist | 3BOPS

1. Dan + Shay, “Glad You Exist”

🎵 “Glad You Exist” • 🏷 Warner Music Nashville • 📅 2021

🏆 Grammy-winning country duo 🎙 Dan + Shay bring a lofty level of dedication to their significant others on the pleasant 🎵 “Glad You Exist”, their first single of 2021. 🎙 Dan Smyers and 🎙 Shay Mooney keep things short, to the tune of about two-and-a-half minutes.  In addition to their role as writers (and Smyers’ 🎛 production role), the record was written by 🎼✍ Tayla Parx, 🎼✍ Jordan Reynolds, and 🎼✍ Ryan Lewis.

“Glad You Exist” is all about L-O-V-E.  Specifically, two lovers are totally infatuated with one another in a seemingly unbreakable bond.  For all the nonsense these men have done – “Here’s to all the late-night drunk phone calls that you picked up / Here’s to all the bad decisions that you didn’t judge” – their respective wives have stuck with them. As always, Smyers and Mooney have sweet chemistry, and while they are a country duo, there’s plenty of ‘pop’ to be had. “Glad You Exist” is sleekly produced, thoughtfully (if schmaltzy) penned, and sung with incredible finesse

2. Taylor Swift, “I Forgot That You Existed”

💿 lover • 🏷 Taylor Swift • 📅 2019

“But then something happened one magical night / I forgot that you existed.” 💿 Lover, the seventh studio album by 🏆 Grammy-winner 🎙 Taylor Swift, commences in bright and bubbly fashion with the sleek 🎵 “I Forgot That You Existed.” “I Forgot That You Existed” was penned by Swift, 🎼✍ Adam King Feeney, and 🎼✍ Louis Bell.  Swift and Bell also produce the record alongside 🎛 Frank Dukes.

From an initial listen, “I Forgot That You Existed” feels and sounds like ‘pop gold.’  Swift delivers a playful performance that oozes with personality.  Melodically, the record is quite lovely, though it should also be noted the non-melodic, spoken-word portions are also quite alluring, contributing to its ‘gem status.’

3. Arcade Fire, “We Exist”

💿 Reflektor • 🏷 Merge • 📅 2013

“But we exist / Daddy it’s true / I’m different from you / But tell me why they treat me like this?” 🎵 “We Exist,” a standout from 💿 Reflektor, the fourth studio album by 🎙 Arcade Fire, features a transcendent message. Per the band, “We Exist” “is a reaction to [Jamaica’s] notoriously antigay culture”. It’s taken from the perspective a boy who realizes he’s different (gay).  He struggles with acceptance from the world and fears the reaction of his father, as excerpted above and continuing as follows: “If you turned away / What would I say? / Not the first betrayed by a kiss.”

His father’s reaction seems supportive, giving his son sound advice: “When you walk in the room / Tell ‘em it’s fine / Stare if you like.” The protagonist goes on to depict discrimination.  Homophobia exists throughout the world; it’s a cruel, unfair reality within the LGBTQ+ community, something “We Exist” accurately highlights.

Also Appears On 🔽:

🔗 🎧 A Compendium Comprised of 100 Notable LGBTQ+ Songs