Naomi Jane is back with her latest bittersweet single, “Grown Ups.” Marking the final single in her “Letterman Trilogy,” Jane’s “Grown Ups” captures the struggles of young love while transitioning from adolescence to adulthood. Resolute and poignant, the song holds a tone of finalization, adding to its solemn beauty. Janes's lyrics are introspective and her maturity echoes throughout the track as we watch her let go of love and, from a distance, acknowledge the freeness of youth and naivety. She writes, “Let’s leave love to the grown-ups / We’re just not ready for that.” She decisively embraces adulthood, though not without taking one painful glance back at what once was. “Grown Ups” is a bittersweet ending, an ode to the passage of time and transition to adulthood. It is momentary and intensely raw, capturing a sense of solitude that can sometimes accompany us as we grow and change throughout life.
Lyrically powerful and heartfelt, Jane's serene voice carries the song, as instrumentally the song is perfectly simple. The track takes a step away from other pop-infused rhythms or heavy studio-done beats that sometimes feature in the pop category. Instead, Jane opts for a light country and folk sound to enrich her song. Moving lyrics coincide with a humble and down-to-earth melody, a signature of Jane's we've seen before in her music. With just a few simple strums of guitar alongside harmonizing pieces of Jane's voice, we are left with a timeless composition. Placed within a story of love and loss, Jane's ability to almost singlehandedly uphold a song with her voice alone, without the aid of multiple instruments, is an art in itself. As Jane soothingly caresses each note and feathers over each melancholic line, almost tangible emotion can be touched. Always pleasantly authentic, Jane constructs a narrative that is both tinged with sadness and a resolved maturity that listeners can relate to at any age.
In the conclusion to her "Letterman Trilogy," Jane follows her previous two singles, "Pretty Boys" and "Little Miss," by finishing off her narrative of a journey through youthful love and growing up. In “Pretty Boys,” Jane points out the youthful fragility of love and the disillusionment that can sometimes become blinding. Her second single in the trilogy, “Little Miss,” illustrates themes of self-acceptance, self-worth, and empowering oneself. When creating “Grown Ups,” Jane was influenced by artist Zack Bryan, which can be seen in the country and folk waves of the song. The song marks the end of the story and the emotional evolution that Jane illustrates in her character. “Grown Ups” symbolically takes images of the red solo cup and teenage scenes to be used as a reflection of the past. Jane looks at her experiences from the outside and acknowledges them as moments of growth and maturity. With her latest singles receiving over 575k streams and amassing 26k followers on TikTok, Jane continues to both enchant and captivate listener's hearts with her writing and vocals. Not the end for Jane, she promises her eager audience another EP that is set to debut in September 2024.
Written By Mia Chavez
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