My Thoughts On Calvin Harris's "My Way"

Every time Calvin Harris releases a new song I get nervous, I should really have it “Under Control” but palms sweat a bit, my mind isn’t really at ease…

I understand, or at least I should at this point understand, that when an artist releases new music it’s them expressing themselves. Really, I shouldn’t be nervous, as he’s switched around a bit within his own sound enough for me to have been comfortable by now. Every time he is about to release a new track I am braced and sitting on the edge of my seat, because music is life changing. And yet each time, I end up singing the lyrics and listening to the songs he releases for years to come. When Calvin announced the release date for “My Way” my heart was skipping a beat.

If I am still a fan of all his music then why am I worried about a new song release?

It’s a fairly simple answer, I fear change within a sound that I find that I love. I want to hold onto that certain sound when I hear it because it feels “fresh” or “perfect.” I get comfortable each time he releases something new and I get comfortable in that specific track or in a certain sound. As a fan of an artist you have to take a step back think for a minute. If I was in this artists shoes and I wanted to explore my sound as an artist, would I want the ability to do that? Yes. I probably would, so we in turn should want that for the artists we listen to.

In my eyes you either listen to an artist for specific songs or you love them as an artist.

If you choose to listen to an artist for specific songs you may eventually one day find yourself disappointed because artists change, they evolve. But think about it, do you really just want to lay around hearing the same sound all the time? I know that sometimes I actually do feel that way. I still feel that way about certain artists and as a listener I should allow them to grow. Just because a sound isn’t the same as when an artist started doesn’t mean they’re not fantastic. Motion was a far different album than 18 Months. Just because the two sounds were different doesn’t make or break Calvin Harris as an artist. It just means he moved forward. It means that as an artist he progressed and paced himself in new direction. It’s still Calvin Harris.

When Calvin Harris played “CUBA” at Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas in 2014 at the circuitGROUNDS stage, he changed everything ten minutes into his set dropping a new sound. In my eyes that was one of the best sets I’ve ever heard from him. I’d place his recent set at T in the Park as number two. When Calvin Harris played songs like “Feel So Close” and “Sweet Nothing” off his hit album “18 Months” and it wasn’t the same sound off his previous albums “I Created Disco” or “Ready For The Weekend” he played a different sound. As fans we have to allow room for grow. We have to let things develop.

Today, Calvin Harris released “My Way”.

“My Way” is the best upbeat track I’ve heard in 2016 and it also really surprised me. To me, the new song kind of feels like a slowed down, low melodic version of “Summer“. The track highlights vocals from Calvin Harris himself, who sings his own lyrics to the track, “You were the one thing in my way”, but clearly nothing can stand in his way. This track is coming off his recent release of “This Is What You Came For” featuring Rihanna and which has also become a solidified hit in his arsenal. Sometimes you have to accept change within an artist and it will broaden your perspective within music.