The Emotional Manipulation of Sean Kingston's Beautiful Girl

R&B singer songwriter Sean Kingston’s career defining hit Beautiful Girls is a melodic ear-worm that I distinctly remember from my childhood. I recall hearing it at summer camp and gym class alongside a slew of other tuneful pop hits of the era. I still hear it sometimes today on the radio or the occasional obnoxiously loud speaker system from the passing car of an insecure jackass. On one occasion of having the admittedly pleasant song foisted upon me recently however, I noticed something interesting about it that was probably discussed at the time of its release: the cheery lovey-dovey tune being interrupted by an out of nowhere mention of suicide.

The song, generally being about Kingston’s struggles with letting women go after a relationship turns sour, opens with a chorus exclaiming that an anonymous girl (worth noting that this girl is referred to with the term “you” in the song) has him feeling suicidal over the thought of not being with her anymore, as she is just that beautiful and perfect.

The backing melody and the instrumentation is as cheery and light as can be, and the rest of the lyrics are bittersweet but playful, yet this repeating chorus comes barreling into the song each time like a firetruck through a glass pane. Of course, songs about suicide can work. Songs about suicide and relationships can work; music is one of the most primal artistic mediums and can make the most melodramatic concepts feel plausible and relatable. But the contrast with the chorus and the rest of the song is jarring, and not in a way that feels intentional.

It feels like an inverse, a perfect reflection of the rapper Logic’s breakout 2017 hit 1-800-273-8255, in which he recants the struggles of suicidal ideation, only to have it interrupted by him cheerily calling out: “Who can relate? Woo!”

In Logic’s case, it seems like a hilariously miscalculated mistake. And at first, that was what I believed the case was for Sean Kingston. But after giving it some thought, I’ve come to a different conclusion: the mention of suicidal ideation in Kingston’s song carries a cynical purpose, whether intentional or otherwise.

It’s no secret that the music industry uses all sorts of emotional manipulation to sell. One particular method is producers hiring an attractive male musician or creating an all boy band to play on the wants and desires of young girls. Their music often consists of telling their audience, always referred to as a non-specific “you” or “girl” so that the listener can imagine themselves as the subject of the song; that they will love them, treasure them, and give them all the material possessions and classy experiences a rich and famous celebrity can afford. In the case of Kingston’s Beautiful Girl, he takes it a step further: he is so infatuated with you, young female listener, that he will literally kill himself if he has to break up with you. Here, Kingston invokes Romeo and Juliet levels of romantic devotion, or delusion, depending on the cynicism with which you overanalyze this fluffy 2000’s pop song.

Although Kingston later talks about potential lovers cheating on him, which one may view as insulting to the young female audience who are meant to project themselves onto the song, the power is always in the hands of the woman. Kingston is utterly powerless, and the control belongs in the hands of the female subject. Stop the analysis there, and one could make a shaky justification for the song being feminist.

Not only does this song work on the level of being complimentary to the listener’s beauty, but it acts as a subconscious psychological justification: the only reason Sean Kingston (or whatever celebrity the listener may be infatuated with) isn’t already dating you is because they simply couldn’t handle having to break up with you down the line if it came to it. That’s the reason why they’re in the tabloids dating another celebrity.

Now don't get me wrong: I don’t believe that Beautiful Girl has had a negative impact on society or its perception of romance or suicide, and I highly doubt that Sean Kingston intended to downplay these concepts. But I do think that it’s darkly hilarious, and speaks to attitudes towards suicide and the music industry’s willingness to manipulate and take advantage of its audience.

Just don’t stop reading my posts though. Because if you do, you’ll have me suicidal. Because I value your patronage that much.