Allusions In Pop Music Analysis

Biblical allusions have become extremely common in music for as long as it’s been around. Initially, most music that had references to the bible or angelic beings were hymns. These are songs in which the main aim of the song is to praise God or a god in general. During the 50’s, it was deemed taboo to speak of God or the bible in a song that was not a hymn. With musical pioneers such as Ray Charles, the landscape began to chance and it started to become acceptable to speak about God in pop songs. In the modern music industry, references to angelic beings have become unbelievably common. One of the highest selling albums of the the past five years has been Khalid’s American Teen. Khalid is an up and coming Pop singer whose music is rapidly spreading

A common technique that is used in this genre of music is the comparison of someone that is loved to angels. People labeling their loved ones as angels shows what the common ideology on angels are. They are deemed as: “good”, “untainted”, “perfect” spirits. This goes to show that angels are held in incredibly high regard by the general public. These depictions of angels as “perfect celestial beings” is actually pretty accurate with the canonical scripture. In Psalm 78:25 is is said: “Human beings ate the bread of angels; he sent them all the food they could eat.” The sanctity and selflessness of Angels is emphasized through this biblical

The theme of the song is that no matter what degree of pain and hardship that you experience, angels will always be in your presence and will lift you up from the pain. Though the song does not have many lyrics, this theme can be realized in many parts. The first verse delves into not only the experiences that the artist has, but also the experiences that the angels have themselves. He says that he has seen angels in his living room, on the Sun, and on the Moon. This emphasizes the sheer magnitude of the angels abilities. Angels are basically a continuation of God, so it is logical that they would have some of the same powers. This raises one of the same questions that Saint Thomas Aquinas had as well. If he is seeing these angels in his room and across the world, do these angels have physical bodies? Must something that is visible have a body or matter? Aquinas answered that these angels can be seen either in visions or when they assume bodies. It is not often that angels are seen assuming bodies in the modern era; so it makes more logical sense that Khalid is speaking about “guardian angels” that take the form as his loved ones. In a recent interview, Khalid states: “ It wasn’t about me literally talking to angels. I felt like it was more me talking about guardian angels. I’ve been seeing angels in my living room. I can literally touch them. They’re close. They’re in my space.