Music Review // Alaina "The Game"

https://open.spotify.com/album/0OEBuruUocXY7XozYFAJ3P //

"In the darkest hour of my soul / Will you be there for me?" is the question this song first poses.  I really feel like when it comes to relationships, too many people find one flaw or fight and say "That's it, I'm out"  And I've always kind of had this idea- since I was a youth- of "Well, it's better to break up with someone now then wait six months and really hate them and wish I had done it back then"  Then again, I was also married for way too long and should have left that relationship any number of times, so there's that.   I'm a complex individual and I believe most people are complex, but siding with the idea of sticking with people you really love through the bad times is kind of my jam these days.

Alaina has this voice that should be filling stadiums and arenas across the world.    It's soulful and she just belts it out in a way that few can sing and sometimes, yeah, I wish I could sing like that.   Imagine me, someone who rarely sings in public (the special drunk karaoke night only) and then I just come out sounding like this... It'd blow people's minds and I'd like that, but alas, this is a gift not everyone has but it's something that when listening to it you have to hear and just feel the pure beauty within it.   Like Mariah Carey.

"You are cruel to me / And you are using me / For your own selfish game"  I think this represents a lot of people in their 20's and maybe even early 30's.  I don't know.   I had this conversation the other weekend with someone older and wiser than me and he said something to the effect of "We all grow up at different times" and I really felt that.   I think before people really grow up they spend more time in relationships like "What's in it for me?" when they should be telling the other people "This is what I bring to the table.  This is why you should let me into your life"

Dating apps are the worst.   I wish someone would pay me to write stories about them so I could at least feel like they're not completely wasting my time.   As Alaina sings about being numb to the pain, I just think that's something that comes with getting older.  You don't let people get too close so when you let them down and they leave you it doesn't hurt too badly.   But in this song, Alaina is the one who was wronged by someone and she has that wrath like P!nk, which I really enjoy. 

No matter your age, you should have at least one horror story about a relationship.  I have what some might say are far too many.   I could write a book about it.   But at least listening to this song makes me feel less alone.  I also really like singing along with this in my shower, which my neighbors do not like as much because of my voice.   We've all been here and you don't have to be sad to revisit it.  You should use those mistakes and that pain as a lesson.   Learn and grow.   This song will help you to learn and grow.