Jenny (I Wanna Ruin Our Friendship) Musical Analysis
The song is 3:36 with a BPM of 134 (Beatport) and a bar signature of 4 beats per bar. "Jenny" charted at #7 on the US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs on Billboard in 2020/2021 as well as #2 on official Finnish charts (Suomen virallinen lista). It is played in the key B major. There are 5 chords when you look at it and they are Am, F, C, Dm, and G. The feeling of the music is a very dance song and you can really hear the electronics in this song. The beat of this song also blends nicely with the lyrics especially in the beginning with the steel drums playing methodically until more electronic instrumentals come in and takes over. The rhythm of the accordion can be heard throughout and adds a little scratch of the brain as I call it where it just fits in nicely without taking over so much it just adds to the overall aesthetics.
The song itself is about Cherry who has a crush on this girl named Jenny and in the lyrics, she goes on about stealing items from Jenny. I'm using your shirt as a pillow case. She is also using her lipstick and again states Stealing your stuff now and then. Throughout the song, Cherry is telling Jenny that she is her dearest friend and she wants to ruin her friendship by being lovers instead. The song really speaks for itself and the lyrics really tell how Cherry wants Jenny even though Jenny is dating others.
The timbre in this song uses accordion, steel drums, and then a lot of mixing to create what we hear. In the beginning, the steel drums transport you into a tropical place, a lot of the research I did said it reminded them of the Caribbean meets Mediterranean (Stern).
This song became a well known song in the LGBTQ community helping people coming out of various closets and being able to reveal their love to their friends (Stern). While I have been quoting a lot of other sources and material, this song to me follows along the same trend of what I'm sourcing. There are always a couple people in my life where I have asked myself do I want to ruin this friendship for anything more? I always end up staying quiet cause I would rather keep those people as my friend for a longer period of time over it ended on something like this.
Overall, I recommend watching the music video of this song as I feel like it really adds to the music. You can see Cherry and Jenny hanging out and Cherry getting jealous of Jenny and her new boyfriend. It is also cool to note that while this song mainly casts Cherry, you can see Goldie Foxx and DJ Dyna Mink in the club.
Stern, Bradley. “How Studio Killers’ ‘Jenny’ Became a Queer Tiktok Hit (Interview).” MuuMuse, 9 Jan. 2021, muumuse.com/2021/01/studio-killers-jenny-ruin-our-friendship-tiktok-interview.html/.
Studio Killers - Studio Killers | Releases | Discogs, www.discogs.com/master/593641-Studio-Killers-Studio-Killers. Accessed 29 Sept. 2024.
“Studio Killers - Jenny (Original Mix) [Studio Killers Records]: Music & Downloads on Beatport.” Studio Killers - Jenny (Original Mix) [Studio Killers Records] | Music & Downloads on Beatport, www.beatport.com/track/jenny-original-mix/4680956. Accessed 29 Sept. 2024.
I loved this song back in 2021. I like how the accordion fades in after Cherry confesses and sort of reminds me of anticipation like she's waiting for the feeling to be mutual.
ReplyDeleteI have the same feelings towards my friendships. If I find myself liking someone I tend to keep quiet about it because I'd rather keep someone as a friend, instead of losing them because of my feelings towards them.
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