Amalia questions gender equality in Music Professions and expresses herself along “Easily”
So let’s talk about when we were just friends
So you’ll know your place to stay
‘Cuz you take hold of me, so
So damn easily
Amalia (19 years old) emerged with her debut single “You Said”, acclaimed by the public and critics. She is one of these freshly new artists which stand out for women and gender minorities. The London-based singer/songwriter & producer wants to help change the gender imbalance of music producers and their recognition in the industry.
Since 2017, women’s voices are being heard. The #metoo movement and the different scandals that broke out in the art world gave them the courage to speak out or claim their choices.
Amalia’s new single “Easily” (out January 28th) is about her opposing to a man’s will: “You think that I am free for you, you don’t ask for my permission”. She’s sick of doing what he wants: it’s time for her to take back control. Indeed, she reveals later in the song she has “many words to say”.
The jazzy-soul sound of “Human” gives the song a chill-out vibe; this is a clear contrast with the sharp lyrics. Amalia is her own boss; she feels good and calm about that. She wants to be the one making the big decisions; indeed, this is why she’s so into production.
We don’t know if the neo-soul artist is singing to a lover, but we assume this song can be metaphorical to describe how fed-up women and gender minorities are towards the mechanics of the music industry. This hypothesis is plausible: Amalia is part of the next generation, who wants to change things for the better and break down some barriers.
Amalia wants to fight for a rightful cause; just like many British artists do. We could for example quote the artists Yungblud and Harry Styles, who always advocate for everyone to feel understood, no matter what gender we identify with. In fact, the UK music industry seems to be aware of gender disparities.
That’s why over 350 organizations and companies signed the Keychange Pledge since its launch in 2017. Keychange is a global network and movement; its goal is to restructure the music industry in reaching full gender equality. The current inclusivity program will end in 2024; 272 artists and innovators will have followed it. Then, a second Manifesto will be presented to the European Commission.
Keychange asks participating music festivals and organizations to respect a 50:50 balance. 50% of men and 50% of women: all trans and non-binary performers are counted in the 50% of women for each festival. Some of them already achieved this goal!
Things tend to change in France too. At least, female artists took the lead to express what went wrong. In 2019, 700 women signed a Manifesto called “Women Committed to Music Professions”. It has been published in Telerama, a famous French magazine. They did it to denounce sexist remarks, gender-based violence, racism, or any form of discrimination in the musical industry. They also said they wanted to “question the distribution of power”.
Popular young artists like Angèle and Christine and the Queens signed this manifesto. This is further proof that new generations want to start things from scratch. Let’s hope this “new world” after Covid will be better on this point. It sure is a chance to do better.
