Table Of Content
By 2019, Willow was 18, more in tune with herself than ever, and ready to drop another album. The self-titled "Willow" drew inspiration from The Cocteau Twins and crop circles, and explores self-acceptance and growth for the newly-adult singer. "I wanted to bring in a psychedelic rock vibe to it while also bringing in those ambient harmonies — lots of harmonies — to really bring that divine, almost spiritual, energy to the music," Willow told Billboard. Later, Willow would release a full project with a similar sound called "Ardipithecus." Willow is the sole writer of 14 of the 15 tracks, and the sole producer of 10. Her brother Trey Smith, known professionally as AcE, also contributed to three of the songs. "I'm just a teeeeenagerrrrr," she croons, as she reflects on growing pains and adolescence.
Willow Smith strips down in new photo with music update that sparks massive fan response - HELLO!
Willow Smith strips down in new photo with music update that sparks massive fan response.
Posted: Mon, 04 Mar 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Song Meanings & Facts
In early 2012, Willow shocked the world when she chopped her hair off. "I had to recuperate it, and it got to the point that I didn't know what my natural hair looked like because I kept doing all this other stuff," she told Refinery29. The latter was harshly criticized for not being "age appropriate," as Willow, now 12, was seemingly singing about older boys and romantic relationships. "Just for clarity," Willow said on an episode of "The Queen Latifah Show," "the word fling means something that's short-lived." Willow Smith, known these days as simply Willow, has lived a life most of us could only dream of. At just 10 years old, she made her explosive musical debut with "Whip My Hair," and from there, she has only continued to grow and evolve as an artist.
Willow Smith, 20, Shaves Her Head During Her Concert While Performing ‘Whip My Hair’ – Watch
Willow only performs an acoustic version of the song during her shows. Seemingly making peace with the trials and tribulations that come with growing up in the spotlight, the 17-year-old Willow opened up to Girlgaze (via W Magazine) about how she felt like she had to become part of the machine. "You can't change your face. You can't change your parents," she said. The I Am Legend actress most recently convinced her mom Jada Pinkett Smith that bald is beautiful.
Live performances
As reported by Hyperallergic, viewers observed through glass as Cole and Willow went through the eight stages of anxiety, including PTSD, phobias, acceptance, and euphoria. Willow and Cole later released an EP under the band name THE ANXIETY and of the same title, which includes the viral track "Meet Me At Our Spot." Most importantly, this head-shaving moment doesn't seem at all like it's just about getting a haircut in a really unexpected way — that's due to the specific song choice. Willow Smith came into her own with her 2010 debut single "Whip My Hair." The daughter of Hollywood stars Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith was just 9 years old when she recorded the infectious R&B song, which encourages girls to whip their hair as they shake haters off.
Willow Smith rocks edgy transformation in head-turning selfie - HELLO!
Willow Smith rocks edgy transformation in head-turning selfie.
Posted: Thu, 14 Sep 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
"I'm thinking about shaving my head during the 'Whip My Hair' performance," Smith said in a behind-the-scenes clip. "This is gonna be my third time in my life shaving my head. I'm always shaving my head at monumental times in my life, when things are really changing. And this is definitely one of those moments." In the thick of quarantine and lockdowns, Willow threw herself into multiple creative ventures. One of her most intriguing and impactful contributions was her collaborative project "The Anxiety" with Tyler Cole. The project started as a 24-hour exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art's Geffen Contemporary inspired by their personal experiences with anxiety.
The proud mom unveiled her shaved head last week, sharing a photo of her new look, as she snuggled up to her daughter. "Willow made me do it because it was time to let go BUT … my 50's are bout to be Divinely lit with this shed," Jada, 49, wrote in the caption. "I feel like I was just shedding a lot of history and emotional baggage," Smith later explained on an episode of Red Table Talk.
With this insight, Willow dove headfirst into her second album, "The 1st." A longtime fan of the actor, Willow told Vulture that Michael Cera's lo-fi/folk sound on "True That" was what led her to give guitar a whirl. She also noted that her sophomore effort felt like a representation of the new era of her life and career. "It's both in my artistic development and also my emotional and mental development just as a human being," she said.
The song was also an overall commercial success, strongly appealing to adults as well. When Pearl Jam plays "Daughter" live, they usually extend the ending so Eddie Vedder can improvise, saying or singing whatever is on his mind. Jerry Cantrell used a talkbox to create the warbling vocal effect on the Alice in Chains song "Man In The Box." I only had one really terrible experience, which is ‘Whip My Hair’ (…) Just that the values of the people around me [at the time] should have been the opposite.
“Whip My Hair” is Willow’s debut single, released by Jay-Z’s record label Roc Nation. The song and its music video became an instant viral hit, which helped the song reached its #11 peak on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. As of 2011, the song has sold over 1,216,000 digital copies in the US. She collaborated on multiple chart topping singles, including PinkPantheress' "Where you are," Machine Gun Kelly's "emo girl" and Yungblud's "Memories". She even collabed with Camila Cabello and co-wrote a controversial book– all while working on her own album. As previously noted, Willow has a strong heavy music influence in her life thanks to her mom, Jada Pinkett Smith.
“I realized that the content in my songs has always been centered around self-love and the universe and our humanity’s divine path, about expressing oneself and being unapologetic,” she explained. “I listened to ‘Whip My Hair’ not too long ago, after many years, and realized that it’s the same message. I’m not saying anything that’s against my values, and on top of that, I’m saying things that are in harmony with my values."
But “Whip My Hair” still serves as the most-successful song she ever participated on. "Whip My Hair" is the debut single by American singer-songwriter Willow Smith, released in 2010 under the name Willow. The song was written by Ronald "Jukebox" Jackson and Janae Liann Ratliff, and produced by Ronald Jackson.[1] "Whip My Hair" peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Barker lent his guitar skills to "t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l," while Lavigne hopped on the catchy "G R O W." "Just infinite gratitude to both of them," Smith told Nylon, "because they're honestly pop-punk royalty." In 2018 came "Red Table Talk," a Facebook Watch talk show starring Willow Smith, her mom, Jada Pinkett Smith, and her maternal grandmother, Adrienne Banfield Norris. In the series, the women cover a wide variety of topics ranging from the perils of fame to mental health and sexuality. "Red Table Talk" provides a platform for the women to speak openly and candidly, and more recently, has become a stage for celebs to address any personal drama.
"I've grown up and realized what womanhood means to me." Willow shared that she also drew inspiration from her mom and bell hooks for this eclectic reintroduction. In this case, the shaving of Willow's afro could be symbolic of letting go of the past, breaking free of the public's expectations, and grandeur metamorphosis, among plenty of other things she's faced as someone who's been in the spotlight from the moment she was born. Just goes to show that sometimes (and especially for Black women) hair is about more than just the hair itself. Now we're looking at the performer's hairstyles with even more admiration than before.
No comments:
Post a Comment