Pretty Girls

Title: Pretty Girls

Artist: Alyson Stoner

Release: 2015

Runtime: 3 minutes 42 seconds 

Ever since I promoted this song, I’ve been receiving a lot of negative comments, saying my taste in music isn’t exactly as special as I thought it was, that it was generic, and too simplistic. That it promotes sex and promiscuity, a trait I frequently detest in pop music. Let me be clear that I am not an easy man to please when it comes to listening to pop music, and when I think that an artist did a good job, I will champion it.

Not to be confused with Britney Spears and Iggy Azalea’s godawful single of the same title, Alyson Stoner released her debut single “Pretty Girls” off an upcoming debut album, and it is proving to be a darkly pulsing dance track. The cut is a sexy dance number supported by sparse but frenzied production that falls away in a series of beat drops over the dramatic chorus, during which Stoner repeatedly declares “pretty girls learn to work it early.”

Stoner’s vocals are absolutely commanding and infinitely sexy, with the musician singing and even rapping during a spoken word bridge that is entirely encapsulating. Lyrically, Stoner comments on a pretty girl’s ability to effortlessly get what she desires with a simple bat of her eyes. Ironically enough, the song is just as spellbinding as the most beautiful of sirens. Armed with its racing electronic production and a sharply snapping drum line, the song is dangerously danceable, so much so, that I am unabashedly dancing in my chair as I write this review (judge me if you must).
In the accompanying music video, Stoner plays the role of a pretty girl (because obviously, have you looked at her?) who finds herself a nice little Sugar Daddy to bankroll her projects.

The video follows Stoner through a variety of scenes and costumes, as the pretty girl works her charms in a boardroom while pitching a major project (we all saw the way you twitched those hips, girl), seduces with a booty pop or two in the dance club (she is the dancing queen after all), and joyously reaps the benefits of her Sugar Daddy’s gifts (jewelry, checkmate). In other scenes, Stoner can be seen serving face and modeling a studded leotard while singing along to the track, presumably as a dancer in the club.

In off of the scenes Stoner exists as the starring character, donning wigs, batting her eyes, swiveling her hips, and entirely aware of the power that she commands; however, the star also appears as a knowing onlooker. While her character plays the men around her, the musician herself looks on with a smirk on her face implying that she is entirely aware of the power she wields.

Over the years, beautiful women have been known for the power they hold over men. Helen of Troy may be the original pretty girl, and a war was fought over the right to her hand in marriage. She was already married at the time; that is how in demand she was. Over the years, these girls have only learned more about how to ensnare their target with a single look. Alyson Stoner asks an age-old question on her new single, “Pretty Girls.” Over a chilly electronic beat, she ponders how pretty girls learn to work their good looks to their advantage, which adds to the satirical undertone to it. I love the fact that Stoner made her expression plastic-like, making a point that these pretty girls can emote but does not feel and her seductive yet emotionless smile just adds to the eeriness of it, making these people even more sinister.

All in all, I love this song. I think it’s almost a cautionary tale of assumptions and choices. Now, this is a song that is easily misunderstood, with complex messages hidden under the mask of an “average” pop song, which in turn requires multiple listening and viewings. A trait rarely seen in today’s pop songs and this reason alone will make the song an easy target to hate, leading to its own undoing.