#SOTD: Khalid & Normani – “Love Lies”
Valentine’s Day is one of those days in the year were you are either actively looking forward to it or desperately wanting to ignore. This year, whether you were single, in a relationship or not exactly sure what to call your status, Khalid and Normani have a treat for all of us with their new collaboration “Love Lies” from the Love, Simon soundtrack.
Photo courtesy of Spotify
For those of us that follow either of these artist, we been waiting for months for this track to drop. We first saw Normani and Khalid together when he invited her to appear in his music video for “Young, Dumb , and Broke” back in October of 2017. After that, it was constant teasing on social media and in interviews, where both singers praised each other and talked about how excited they were for their collaboration.
Lyrically, “Love Lies” is the product of not only Khalid Robinson and Normani Kordei Hamilton, but of Tayla Parks ( My Everything, Deliver, Cry Baby), Ryan Vojtesak ( Fade, Go Flex), and Jamil Chammas (GO:OD AM).
Photo courtesy of Billboard
“Love Lies” is certainly a stand out song, that showcases both Khalid’s and Normani’s vocals over a smooth R&B beat. There’s a lot of buzz around the song as it’s Khalid’s first song after his Grammy nominations and Normani’s first solo song outside of Fifth Harmony. On this track, fans get to experience a different side of her that is not always reflective on the groups sound.
Photo courtesy of Spotify
The songs excels the most on the bridge where both of their voices are layered over each other, their tones fit so well together, allowing the cohesive and individual vocals to shine. My favorite part of the song is Normani’s Pre-Chorus :
“Don’t be afraid to tell me if you ain’t with it (you ain’t with it)
I see you’re focused, yeah, you’re so independent (independent)
It’s hard for me to open up, I’ll admit it (I’ll admit it)
You’ve got some sh*t to say and I’m here to listen”
The lines evoke a very relatable feeling of relationships. There’s a moment in some relationships where you are not sure where the other person stands, you want them to tell you exactly how they feel, but you are not able to open up about it either. This message is followed by the chorus asking the significant other to tell them where their love lies.
Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox
The song is part of the soundtrack for the upcoming romantic teen comedy Love, Simon. A story about a closeted boy that falls in love with an online admirer. The soundtrack is expected to be out on March 16th, 2018.
You can stream the song on Spotify , Apple Music , Tidal and YouTube.
You can also experience the music video for the song, showcasing Normani’s incredible dancing skills on Youtube.
Make sure to check out more of Khalid on all streaming platforms, and listen to Normani’s solo covers on Soundcloud and her work with Fifth Harmony on all platforms as well.
