You deserve gold in Natalie Saint-Martin’s “2nd Place”

To feel like the runner-up in everything you do takes a toll. You’re left with a sense of doubt imparted from the very people keeping you down. And it’s easy to take that feeling and internalize it as your own. But Natalie Saint-Martin believes she’s (and you’re) worth first place.

In her latest single, “2nd Place”, she clear-as-day states, “I’m runner-up.” There’s a sweet sadness to the line like she’s trying to come to terms with it. But within the same vocal line, she quickly shifts to righteous anger. “Am I all that meets the eye,” she rhetorically asks.

It’s that shift, from depression to resoluteness that imbues each stanza with life. “I’m not taking second place home,” she declares.  She’s choosing to believe in herself and not the naysayers.

The light harmony beneath her words supports this shift. Starting with a strong melodic countermelody in the keys, she almost succumbs to this other music. But with gently growing instrumentation, she fights against it until the very end when the two competing ideas erupt in chaotic cacophony only to resolve into a unified chord. It’s like she’s made her decision at her darkest moment, and we’ve witnessed it beside her.

Stream “2nd Place” below.

Ben McCoy

Ben is an advertising Madman who spends his days with words and music. When he’s not writing for his supper, he’s eating it at some of NYC’s most interesting restaurants.