Hunter Hayes is taking a page out of Taylor Swift’s book with his new age-inspired single, “21.” The track tastefully draws on the ‘go-all-out’ mentality associated with celebrating a 21st birthday to capture the feeling of wanting to live each moment to its fullest.
Lyrically the song is reminiscent of the carefree, “I don’t care what people think” attitude that Hayes sings about in “I Want Crazy.” Hayes starts off the chorus of “21” singing “That’s the way that we’re doing it, doing it/ we go big or we go back home/ people look at us like we’re losing it, losing, it/But, baby, we ain’t doin’ nothing wrong.” In both songs love acts as a shield against any feelings of self-consciousness.
Per the BMI Repertoire, “21” originally was penned by hit makers Dallas Davidson, Kelley Lovelace and Ashley Gorley. Hayes stepped in later and added his own flair to the song, gaining credit as a co-writer. He peppered in a few na-nas (everybody loves a good na-na – especially those of us who love to sing along, but can’t), and most notably, altered the end of the chorus. Lyrics on the original version were changed from “‘till we see the sunrise /like a band on the run/ like a shot from a gun.” to “chasing the sun rise/ like we’re wild and young/ guilty kids on the run.” The alterations give the song a slightly more youthful edge, which is appropriate given Hayes’ target demographic. With “21” Hunter Hayes has created a perfect summer-love anthem for the sunshine filled months that lie ahead.