The world first met Debbii Dawson when she took to the America’s Got Talent stage in 2022. I must admit, I don’t usually enjoy reality competition shows. It's easy to feel disheartened when people are denied their dreams or berated by a puffy-faced Simon Cowell. But I clicked on Dawson’s video, curious to see what a homegrown artist could bring to the table, and found myself unable to look away.
As she sang a slowed-down rendition of ABBA’s 'Dancing Queen', her voice reverberated through the room in a way that felt more instrumental than human. Every note seemed tuned to perfection, ringing out with a subtle vibrato that transformed a disco classic into an emotional celebration of youth. When the audience in the video broke into roaring applause, I clapped along with them, grateful, for once, for reality TV.
In the three years that have passed since that debut performance, Dawson has come into her own as an artist. Instead of following the conventional TV contestant to popstar pipeline, the singer-songwriter leaned into a genre-melding, pop-country-folk sound. Born and raised in Minnesota to a family of musicians, Dawson told Rolling Stone that she listened to a lot of Indian classical, pop, country, and southern gospel music growing up. This eclectic mix presents itself in her unique vocal timbre and willingness to experiment sonically.
Dawson’s latest release, ‘You Killed The Music’ is a cinematic, synth-heavy heartbreak anthem straight out of the 80s. The music video plays into the overall song’s sense of nostalgia, from Dawson’s silver gogo boots, chunky earrings, and sequined electric green dress to the VHS-style camerawork and sparkling retro filters. In ‘You Killed The Music’, Dawson is like a phoenix burning and rising from the ashes as she laments over her lost love, declaring, “You can’t stop me now!” in the chorus. The song’s structure mirrors this theme and seamlessly moves from a soft piano ballad to a groovy, bright dance track.
In the most basic terms, the release could be described as “ABBA meets Dolly Parton meets South Asian influences”, but that wouldn’t be doing Debbii Dawson justice. She’s a creative force of her own, bridging worlds together by authentically drawing from her distinctive multicultural background. Dawson says it best: there’s no stopping her now.
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