Music Review: "Ordinary Girl" (CD single)
What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that although this song has a bit of a
snotty attitude at times ("Miss Popular, always on the road,
put my best foot foward, gotta get on with the show /
Everywhere I arrive, I get high fives, they pay me larger than
life, but I'm just an ordinary girl"), it's still a super-clean
track that includes no worrisome adult content whatsoever.
Miley's latest projects may be more grownup, but this one is
fine for tweens.
- Families can talk about how a young star like Miley Cyrus can balance the benefits of fame with its drawbacks. How much should a girl like Miley be expected to put on a good public face no matter what she's feeling inside?
- How much privacy should young stars be given by the fans who love them?
- Is it confusing that Miley puts out age-appropriate songs like this, but also is trying for an adult image and sound with other projects?
Much to the disappointment of Hannah Montana fans everywhere, the show will end with its fourth and final season, Hannah Montana Forever. "ORDINARY GIRL" is one of the first songs to be released from the season's soundtrack. In this tune, the show's young star, Miley Cyrus, sings about how she feels glad for the success she's had, but she also wants people to understand that she's still an "ordinary girl" at heart. At times, she takes this message just a little too far; for example, she talks about being "paid larger than life" yet still mentions occasionally "being bored." For the most part, however, she gives an honest, heartwarming account of what most tweens experience as they grow up: "Sometimes I'm lazy, I get bored, I get scared, I feel ignored, I feel happy, I get silly, I choke on my own words / I make wishes, I have dreams, and I still want to believe anything could happen in this world for an ordinary girl."
It's too bad that the mediocre songs on Miley's recent album Can't Be Tamed don't sound more like this one. The track's solid, snappy guitar hook is backed by catchy percussive clapping and a chorus of cute young voices -- a set-up that sounds more suited to Miley's maturing vocals.
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