“You’ve got the touch, you’ve got the magic,” Daya croons on “Love of My Life,” the fifth track in her spectacular debut album “Sit Still, Look Pretty.” Yet this line should in fact be about the artist herself, for her magic touch is certainly more impressive than anyone she’s ever loved.
Every song seems carefully structured and lyrically impressive, while also being undoubtedly catchy. “You’re taking me to heaven,” she tells us on “U12,” the 10th song on the album. With her efforts, her album could do nothing less.
The world was introduced to Daya in September of 2015, when she released “Daya,” a self-titled, six-track EP that took the charts by storm, specifically with two tracks: “Hide Away” and “Sit Still, Look Pretty.” The song “Hide Away” went platinum in January of this year – an impressive feat for the then 17-year-old singer. Perhaps one of the most notable features is her young age and seemingly abundant maturity, presenting something of a paradox.
She talks about love as if she wrote the book on it, calling out both lovers and herself for shortcomings and insecurities. “Felt a spark when there was no lightening,” she sings on the memorable “Got the Feeling,” saying that the relationship she finds herself in isn’t the “be all, end all” as so many teens are prone to believe. In the chorus, she goes on to say, “I got the feeling/that you’re not my type.” Her emotional control is impressive and it makes the listener take her words with more gravity. The love she talks about seems plausible and thoroughly adult, making the album applicable to even an older audience.
It would be remiss of me to not talk about the titular track “Sit Still, Look Pretty.” This song is an impressive declaration of independence. It is interesting to note that for a culture moving towards self-awareness and equality, it would seem that the music industry is still lagging behind.
Hip-hop music in particular does no favors to feminism, with artists senselessly degrading women to objects for a mere chart position. Yet male artists are not the only culprits, as oftentimes female individuals also rely on making songs where they are objectified by the opposite sex – an example being Sophie Beem’s single “I Got It.”
And that is not to say that Daya doesn’t strike out on her own, completely leaving men behind – though such a move would be singularly stunning. Her focus throughout the album does tend to be on those she has loved and who have loved her. But what sets her apart is her dedication to dictating exactly what she wants and subsequently exactly what she won’t put up with. “I don’t know what you’ve been told/but this gal right here is gonna rule the world,” she sings on “Sit Still, Look Pretty,” a track that calls out men for only wanting “picket fences and trophy wives.” Her confident declaration that she will never be that for them is what sets Daya apart from the rest and makes her someone to watch.
While feminism is often relegated to being completely devoid of male participation, Daya acknowledges the necessity to include the other gender by educating them on the female identity. She expresses that men are not necessary to women as society has portrayed them to be; rather, they are equals.