Adrian Lyles has always been a rising artist in the pop genre. With his new single, “King of Everything,” he shows a more vulnerable side of himself.
Adrian Lyles is a 20-year-old Dallas-born singer who learned to play piano at the age of three and learned to sing at eleven. He rose to fame with his acting debut as Jet in Disney+’s “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” during its third season in 2022.
What I like about this song the most is how relatable it is. “King of Everything” captures the suffocating feeling of never being enough, for yourself or others, no matter how hard you try. Everyone has had this feeling at least once.
He starts with mellow guitar strums, and the song picks up in its climax as he says, “Now my songs are never cool enough / I don’t think I ever do enough,” portraying his fear and anxiety.
While the lyrics remain the same, keeping the theme, the tone of the song switches as it progresses. It transitions from Lyles’s desperation and fear to frustration and anger as he talks about how nothing ever changes. We have all felt that at some point in our lives, which to me makes the song harder to listen to.
When speaking in an interview, Lyles said that his single was his definition of self-reflection. What is astonishing to me is how he was able to capture something so mature and turn it into a piece of art that can resonate with listeners globally. This is rare in modern music. It truly shows the difference between real, natural talent, compared to artists who just go with the motions.
Lyles has a voice that makes you feel. You can feel the raw emotion and feelings that he puts into his music, and his raw honesty makes “King of Everything” even more impactful.