Review: "Dive Bar Opera" - Meg Smith

Before Summer 2025 ends, grab your to-do list and make sure you include indulging in the ear candy of ‘Dive Bar Opera’ from dynamic pop artist Meg Smith. ‘Dive Bar Opera’ sounds like the equivalent of giving your best shower performance yet, having a dance party with your closest loved ones, and unexpectedly falling in love. The track is thrilling, dance-instigating, and beautifully intoxicating. Upon first listening, it felt like a song I had somehow always known. Smith embeds a flair within ‘Dive Bar Opera’ that is similar to the charm and catchiness of 2000-2010’s pop music, evoking a feeling of nostalgia and new sense of wonder. It is a wonderfully eclectic, throwback-type pop song that comes rarely. While ‘Dive Bar Opera’ may sound familiar, it is an entirely new world from Smith and Smith alone. Although this song talks of a connection with someone who is less than good to her, the spirit of ‘Dive Bar Opera’ gives listeners the impression that regardless, Smith is someone who is going to make the most of the situation and pick herself up where & if she has fallen.

Smith has an ability to write about commonly shared experiences, such as channeling complicated emotions into energy put toward a fun night out, and combine them with an uplifting, purely fun sound that makes you want to forget about anything else except listening to the song. It is one that you can find yourself within – along with so many others - all while finding a good time. While ‘Dive Bar Opera’ is a track you can throw yourself into if you’re looking for a fun escape, it also asks an important question – “Will you still want me when the show is over?” This question is aimed toward Smith’s partner / love interest, yet the question makes listeners reflect and think about how you are valued. The focus of ‘Dive Bar Opera’ may be on treating yourself to a good time, despite someone trying to hold you back, but Smith does a brilliant job showing that it’s additionally important to ensure that recognizing your value is crucial. ‘Dive Bar Opera’ may be flashy and stunning both in sound & lyricisms, talking of scenes of leather & lace in conjunction with a bank heist and car chase, it is about reflecting on the energy and qualities you bring to the table. This unhealthy relationship / person is a vice for Smith, but she’s the one turning the dive bar into opera. ‘Dive Bar Opera’ takes all aspects of this love story – both good & bad – and transforms it to create a world where people can both dance and let go as well as learn from how things played out.

Meg Smith is a pop artist born in Los Angeles, California and now based in New York City. Writing and performing since age 13, Smith exhibits talent and clever songwriting in combination with production that is thorough and stands out. One of Spotify’s Pop Rising Artists to Watch, Smith already has a self-coined genre term to describe her music – “romcom pop”. Delivering pop bangers with charming lyricism about the complexities of relationships, Smith’s “romcom pop” is entirely honest and unique. In 2024, Smith experienced a busy & whirlwind type of year that marked a big start to her impact on the music industry. BBC 1’s “Future Pop” programming began rotating her single ‘Jesus Christ in a Miniskirt’, while she additionally crossed 1M streams on Spotify and had YouTube place billboards for her in LA & NYC. While this is not even grazing the surface of the success she has had, additionally having tracks featured in Apple TV’s ‘EZRA’ and Season 2 of Netflix’s ‘Ginny and Georgia’ under her belt, it is clear that Smith is going far places with her talent & music.

Written By Madison Spies

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