When you are “guided by a beating heart”, one may hear the words of others saying that you need to “wake up”, but why stop the enjoyment of life? This concept is what I see to be the forefront idea of one of my favorite 2010s pop throwbacks, “Wake Me Up” composed by DJ Avicci and sung by Aloe Blacc.

This song was released and struck popularity in the mid 2010s era of music commonly now referred to as the “2010s pop throwbacks”. This time saw many upbeat pop and alternative songs referring to the enjoyment and positivity of life and to leave the worries in the world behind you. Like many songs of this era, “Wake Me Up” encapsulates this idea in it’s upbeat anthem of living life to the fullest.

What’s to come in the future is unknown and sometimes scary for people of my generation getting ready for college and adulthood. Blacc’s words in “Wake Me Up’ attempt to relieve this worry as he brings the listener into the dream he lives in. Lyrics referring to living in the present such as Blacc saying “I can’t tell where the journey will end, but I know where to start.” produces a sense of confidence in his blindness of whats ahead. In the chorus of this song, Blacc repeats a unique extended metaphor of comparing life to a dream. Why throw away this current joy of life in the present by acknowledging the nerves of the future. Don’t just “wake me up” now, “wake me up when its all over” so he can live his life fully in the present.

According to “they”, or an influencing older generation, Blacc will one day wake up from this dream and he will be “wiser and older” realizing the time he used finding himself was wasted. This mentality is compared to being “lost” in a dream and that life will pass him by if he doesn’t open his eyes, but that is completely fine by Blacc.

I resonate with this song as it’s mood perfectly eases the worries and struggles of life. During our high school lives, dramatic feelings and a lurking wave of responsibility and adulthood can be insanely overwhelming if focused upon. In this case, one may want to take things from the present and forget about the worries in the world. This idea guided me through many hardships of my high school and now I happily thrive through my days enjoying my last year in high school.

I quickly decided that this musical construction should be my walk out song homecoming court for these reasons. When I look back at my life in high school, something may finally “wake me up” from the dream I’ve lived and become “wiser and older,” just as the song suggests.