Grammy-nominated R&B singer Khalid remains consistent on the ‘short, but sweet’ “My Bad,” the second advance single for his sophomore LP, ‘Free Spirit.’

“Can’t count up the times you’ve blown my line / And that’s been on my mind a lot lately.” Sigh, more on the sentiment conveyed by those lyrics later. Khalid teased everyone in late 2018 with an EP, Suncity.  The EP was basically a means to ‘tide over’ fans until the arrival of his highly-anticipated sophomore album, Free Spirit (April 5, 2019).  Unsurprisingly, two songs from Suncity are reprised on Free Spirit (“Better” and “Saturday Nights”), while a brand-new single, “My Bad,” joins “Talk” as the second advance single.  Like the music we’ve been accustomed to hear Khalid, it checks off the appropriate boxes.

Khalid keeps “My Bad” short and sweet, clocking in under three-minutes in duration – nothing wrong that.  The record begins abruptly with the Grammy-nominated vocalist singing beautifully, against a lush, silky-smooth guitar-fueled backdrop.  While “My Bad” is firmly planted in the urban contemporary style, there’s plenty of pop appeal, much like the singer’s best records have shown as of yet.  Despite the fact that “My Bad” is quite the bright, ear-catching vibe, the singer is clearly experiencing relationship issues – arguments fueled by miscommunication and a lack of trust.  The aforementioned lyrics, excerpted from the first verse, highlight some of the ‘discord’ you might say.  There’s more ‘trouble in paradise’ on the second verse as well.  The centerpiece and biggest ‘vibe’ of “My Bad” comes by way of the chorus.

“Said, my bad

Blowin’ me up, we been wildin’

We was cool, yeah, we was vibin’

Gotta put my phone on silent…”

Final Thoughts

All in all, Khalid delivers another enjoyable, well-rounded record with “My Bad.” This isn’t a game changing affair, nor does it eclipse the likes of “Location”.  Still, it’s a vibe and hopefully Free Spirit ends up being a terrific sophomore album.

Khalid • Free Spirit • RCA • Release: 4.5.19

Photo Credit: RCA