“Where We Started” by Thomas Rhett & Katy Perry
“Where We Started” is one of those we-can-take-on-the-world love songs, though it takes a different approach than other tracks that tend to fall into this category.
Usually in these cases, the vocalist’s focus would be on the hope a future with his sweetheart will bring. Such is also true to some extent in “Where We Started”. But where it differs is that on this song, the vocalist’s focus is rather on encouraging the addressee that if he or she wants a better idea of what lies ahead, then to look back and “think about where (they) started”.
Put simply, significant progress has already been made in this relationship, to the point that even during present moments of doubt and depression, there is ample evidence to suggest that better days lie ahead.
It should be pointed out, concerning the uniqueness of this approach, that the narrative is based on Thomas Rhett’s real-life romance with Lauren Akins, whom he’s been married to for almost a decade now, since 2012. It is she he used to pick up from work, presumably as a waitress, in his Chevy. He was the one, as portrayed by Katy Perry in the second verse, who at the time was actually hustlin’ to make it as a musician. As insinuated, Lauren had faith that Thomas would one day blow up. Her predication came true, as now he is making a “living out of singing songs about” her.
As more implicitly inferred, even a marriage where one party is a music star has its moments of discouragement. And yes, the vocalist does acknowledge that the two parties involved are ‘all each other need’. But still on top of that non-material assertion, s/he is pledging to represent in the future, as with in the past.
Facts about “Where We Started”
This is the title track from the Thomas Rhett album that Big Machine Records made commercially available on 1 April 2022. Apparently, the entire project has been entitled “Where We Started” due to the fact that this particular tune ended up unexpectedly being the jumping off point for a flurry of songs Rhett wrote with his homeys.
Thomas’s co-writers of this piece are:
- Jon Bellion (of “All Time Low” fame)
- Ashley Gorley
- Jesse Frasure
To note, Frasure, aka DJ Telemitry, also produced “Where We Started” with Dann Huff.
Thomas has been very successful since the release of his first LP, 2013’s “It Goes Like This”. His come-up occurred around the same time that Katy Perry’s – an artist who from the late aughts into the early 2010s was one of the best-selling in the world – own sales, to some degree, began to decline. Concerning this collaboration, Rhett has stated that he considered it a blessing that someone of Perry’s caliber, himself being a fan of hers since he was a young teenager, would agree to participate on one of his songs.
