Lukas Graham: 7 Years, Not A Damn Thing Changed & I'm Happy For You

Tuesday dashed in quietly (not so!). Still breezy up here which discouraged us from being outdoors. My little one was in alert mode each time he heard the rustling of things outside so I had to shut the windows just so he could relax. Then we played music most of the day. I had fun exploring new artists and albums on YT and was surprised that Tyrese (Roman Pearce on the Fast & Furious franchise movies) sings!

Do you happen to know that? Yep! It's a discovery for me today.

Anyhow, around noonish time, I came across Lukas Graham's 7 Years which piqued my interest and got me listening to more of his songs and also taking a quick peek at his bio. It turned out it was not a single person but a Danish pop band with members consisting of lead vocalist Lukas Forchhammer, drummer Mark Falgren, and others.¹

And here's to share 3 of their songs that I enjoyed today:

Lukas Graham - 7 Years

This song was released in the US by Warner Bros. Records and the album reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200, No. 2 in the UK and New Zealand, No. 1 in Australia and Canada, and No. 5 in Ireland.² And yes, it had Lukas nominated for 3 Grammy Awards and Song of the Year for BBC Music Awards. Unfortunately, they didn't win. This is by far their biggest hit single to date.

One thing that caught my heart about this song is the lyrics. It kind of speaks about a person's life cycle if I could put it that way. Found out that it was inspired by Lukas' environment while growing up in Christiania, a place which he says with no laws, police, streetlights, etc. A self-governing artistic community as Wiki puts it.

Lukas Graham - Not A Damn Thing Changed

Accordingly, this single was released in 2018 and peaked at number 2 on the Danish Singles Chart. The song is said to be a tribute to one of Lukas' childhood friends (William) who committed suicide in January of that year. Perhaps the place where he grew up hasn't changed over the years, hence, this song and its lyrics.

The music video was filmed in Copenhagen and Christiana and features Lukas Forchhammer's real-life childhood friends.

Lukas Graham - I'm Happy For You

A lovely song about the struggle from a break up and then moving on. I do like the fun beats that the song has.

I would say that the band's music style has its own uniqueness. Their song lyrics contain mostly serious themes but are good. The beats are a mix of soul, funk, pop, and hip hop.

Here are what some people say about the band:

Lukas Graham's music has been described as a pop-soul hybrid. In a review of the band's new album, journalist Jon Pareles of The New York Times described their sound as the place "where pop meets R&B". Patrick Ryan of USA Today wrote that the band's songs "effortlessly blend elements of hip hop and folk".³

Hope you enjoyed these tunes too.

This, by the way, is my participation in the initiative by Ablaze, Three Tune Tuesday. Share yours too, if you haven't already done so.