“Narcissist” by Lauren Spencer-Smith

A narcissistic person is someone who, more simply put, is conceited. But in reality narcissism, as clinically defined, is a lot deeper than that. Indeed the way the vocalist initially describes the addressee, i.e. the romantic interest who she has learned possesses such a personality, is along the lines of an ideal lover. For instance, in the first verse, he’s presented as being ‘charismatic’, ‘charming’, “over-generous” and a sucker for love. Put simply, he is described as someone who would even ‘die or kill’ for his significant other.

But the caveat is introduced in the chorus, i.e. later down the line in the relationship, past the euphoria stage whereas now the vocalist is truly familiar with the addressee. And presently, he is shown to be someone who is not only accusatory but also blows conflicts out of proportion, obviously being emotionally abusive also. 

Or stated otherwise, when something doesn’t go right, he never personally feels as if he’s at fault. So it can be said that within the context of this song, a “narcissist” is not only someone who thinks highly of himself but is also deceptively abusive.

So what Lauren is doing, apparently based on her own experience, is warning others out there not to fall for such a guy. The way she explains it is as they’re experts in the art of seduction. But if you dumb out and fall in love with a narcissist, “after six months” you’ll see what time it really is. Yet the vocalist is also defending the victims of these guys, assuring them that being swept off their feet, only to realize that their Prince Charming is actually a Dr. Evil, ‘is not their fault’.

Lauren Spencer-Smith

Lauren Spencer-Smith is a singer who may be a citizen of both Canada and the UK. However, she actually hails from the former country. Her official discography dates back to 2019. However, since then she also participated on American Idol (Season 18) in 2020, wherein she lasted down to the final 20 contestants. 

In fact interesting to note is that as of the dropping of “Narcissist”, out of those 20 finalists it is only Spencer-Smith, Just Sam and Arthur Gunn, the latter two respectively being the winner and runner-up of that season, who have their own Wikipedia pages.

“Narcissist”

This song, which came out on 29 July 2022, is a product of the following labels:

• UMG
• Republic Records
• Island Records
• Three Name Productions

As of the release of “Narcissist”, it wasn’t officially part of an album. However, upon release, it was speculated to be a part of Lauren’s debut album. These tracks are also considered so, “Fingers Crossed” and “Flowers“. They were released earlier in 2022 to notable success for an up-and-coming artist.

The music video to this track was directed by Jasper Soloff.

“Narcissist” was produced by Greg Kurstin. Greg is one of the most widespread behind-the-scenes’ men in the music industry these days. And Greg also had a hand in writing this piece. He did so in conjunction with Spencer-Smith and Fransisca Hall.