At the age of 19, Norwegian singer-songwriter Marie Ringheim (also known as Girl in Red) released her first single, “I Wanna be Your Girlfriend” to moderate internet success. Eventually gaining millions of fans and monthly listeners across platforms, numerous songs of Girl in Red’s have seen immense success— her most popular song, “We Fell in Love in October” boasting nearly 1 billion listens on Spotify. Now at 25, Girl in Red has released a new album, “I’m Doing it Again Baby!”
Compared to Girl in Red’s previous work, this album is much more heavily produced than anything she’s done before. Her typically solemn, intimate acoustic songs are replaced by generalized lyrics and insincere tracks that echo the same shallow, recycled themes from dozens of other artists. Her identity was founded upon painful lyrics and stirring instrumentals written by a young woman for other young women. With gut-wrenching lines, work from previous projects such as “If I Could Make it All Go Quiet” or “Chapter 2” has made me, among many others, bawl over situations I’ve never experienced where “I’m Doing it Again Baby!” leaves me ultimately numb over situations I, and most people, have experienced for myself.
As for the objective individuality of “I’m Doing it Again Baby!”, it fails to impress in even the simplest regard. With uninspired chord progressions, 4/4 time signature featured on every track, saccharine ballads and melodramatic soliloquies, and mediocre hooks; there are barely enough distinguishable aspects to differentiate the tracks from each other.
As exhibited by her music and online presence, Girl in Red is an openly gay artist. This has solidified itself so prominently in her identity, that asking someone if they “listen to Girl in Red” has garnered itself as colloquial slang for asking if someone, typically a woman, is attracted to other women. With that considered, “I’m Doing it Again Baby!” is a significant shift from the involvement of queer dialogue in Girl in Red’s music. While it isn’t removed entirely from the album’s thematic relevance, there is not a single Sapphic track in this album. While there’s no critical issue with her focusing less on this aspect of her musical identity, with her four most popular songs explicitly dealing with lesbian relationships– it’s shocking.
Overall, “I’m Doing it Again Baby!” removes many hallmarks seen in Girl in Red’s previous, more distinct music. It is average, familiar work from an exceptional, trailblazing artist.
