I was Wrong

I've been hearing this song, Am I Wrong by Nico and Vinz, on the radio for awhile now. I didn't really think much of it because I thought it was just another love song albeit a really catchy beat. Just recently, I listened to the whole song and  picked up on the "yeah yeah yeah, oh oh" background vocal part. It sounded foreign to me, something like an African influence. Intrigued, I immediately went on my computer, searched for the music video, and  was really surprised at what I found. You might not have been fooled like I had, but I seriously thought it was a love song. The singer was professing his love for a girl, but she was rejecting him.

I was very wrong because this isn't a love song at all. It is about having a dream and holding onto it, ignoring anybody who tells you otherwise.

So am I wrong
For thinking that we could be something for real?
Now am I wrong
For trying to reach the things that I can't see?

 

The music video was filmed in Zimbabwe and Botswana, Africa. This song is really trying to place the people of Africa in a positive light, instead of the usual negative light. The following lyric makes a lot of sense now:

Am I wrong for thinking out the box from where I stay?

I really like the concept of this song now that I correctly interpreted it; it's not the usual love struggle. It's pretty interesting that Nico and Vinz wrote this song from the African perspective because they are Norwegian. Both of them have direct African ancestors though so I understand their motivation to write Am I Wrong. This song was actually released on April 12, 2013, but it became internationally famous starting around June 2014 in the United States. It reached #4 on Billboard's Top 100 hits; the last Norwegian song hitting the United States charts was Take on Me by A-ha in 1985.

It's interesting that these types of motivational songs are popular now. Before, songs were explaining how you should party like you don't care. Now the message is similar to Taylor Swift's Shake it Off, don't let anybody sway your aspirations.

~ Melody♫

By the way, this song has brass also ;)