“Girls Like Us” by Zoe Wees
The titular sentiment of this song, in full, is “it’s hard for girls like us”. And even though that statement may read as if Zoe Wees is singing about a specific group of females, such is not the case per se. Rather, let’s say she is speaking more to a social and psychological reality than a particular type of person.
That is to say, in the former regard, that ‘girls like her don’t know who they can trust’. And in the latter, it is like they are also dealing with self-image issues.
Thus in the first verse, we have the vocalist noting how now “everyone is so heartless”. This would logically be what Zoe is alluding to in terms of her and her ilk not knowing who to trust, as in people tending to be uncaring and resultantly untrustworthy.
Then in the second verse the vocalist speaks to self-image issues, i.e. not believing that she is beautiful. Now the overall implication behind such a disposition is that said mentality at least in part is as a result of her socialization, i.e. being taught that her physical features or what have you are not attractive.
And we know the above based on Zoe Wees own explanation of this piece. According to her, she grew up in a setting where she didn’t feel accepted. Perhaps, to some degree, such is to be expected of a Black girl who was raised in Germany. But even beyond that, the songstress was reportedly stricken with epilepsy as a child. This was a condition that further damaged her self-esteem.
The Long and Short of “Girls Like Us”
So at the end of the day, what Zoe is saying is that outsiders do not fully appreciate the type of interpersonal and internal hardships girls like herself go through. And yes, she is in fact a pretty unique individual, being perhaps the first Black solo German female singer we’ve ever covered in this blog.
But of course those maladies referred to in this song affect young ladies everywhere in the modern world, which is perhaps why this tune went on to gain international notoriety.
Who is Zoe Wees?
Zoe Wees is actually a solo female singer from Germany. She is fresh on the scene as in her first single, Control, just coming out in 2020. And it proved to be an international hit, i.e. the type of debut outing most professional musicians dream of.
Facts about “Girls Like Us”
Meanwhile Girls Like Us, which is backed by Capitol Records, came out on 12 January 2021 and stands as the second single in Zoe Wees’s discography.
She co-wrote this piece, which came out as a standalone single, alongside Hight and the track’s producers –
- Patrick Salmy
- Nicolas Rebscher
- Ricardo Muñoz Repko
“Girls Like Us” also proved to be a notable hit, charting across Europe and performing most impressively on the Swiss Hitparade, where the track peaked at number three. It has also been certified platinum in Switzerland and gold in a couple of other countries.
Additionally, the track experienced newfound life in late 2021 when Zoe reportedly rocked the house with a rendition of “Girls Like Us” at the American Music Awards. But to note, as of this writing the song has yet to chart in the United States (though the aforementioned Control has been certified platinum by the RIAA).
Being born in 2002, as of the writing of this post Zoe is 19 years old and was 18 when “Girls Like Us” was dropped.
This track’s music video was directed by one Michael Winkler.
