Bri Stauss & the biggest perk of being "Famous"

I do not know the weather up in the U.S. of A, but with songs like "Famous" by Bri Stauss, I can tell that it is still summer.

Smack-dab right in the middle of it, comes this track with a vibe that I can only describe as desperately cute. Something between Stauss' diaphanous vocals and the dainty and modest accompanying plucks at the beginning of the track just fills you with very agreeable giddiness, the sort you'd feel when you know you're about to see someone you care about that you haven't seen in a while.

The electro-pop track blends with just a hint of rock for an added kick as it ramps its energy up, in fact, the whole track is this very subtle crescendo that takes itself all the way up to the dream-like heights suggested by the lyrics.

But just *who* is Bri Stauss? Well, that story ties back up with this very song.

Some readers will immediately recognize Bri as the First Season winner of ABC's "The Bachelor Presents: Listen To Your Heart" back in 2020. The singer and songwriter has moved forward with her music career since, banking on talent-backed dreams and hard work. But the road hasn't been without its rough spots, one of which led directly to the creation of "Famous", when a meeting with a potential manager turned into a degrading conversation that sought to demoralize Bri by telling her she was "Too Old" to make a music career and that she should instead " just go back to school and have 10 kids".

Just from a bystander's point of view, that is so insulting it is almost comical in the audacity and rudeness of the man to just come out and say something like that. Terribly disrespectful, but ultimately just a piece of firewood for Stauss' growing Blaze to use as fuel. On the no-doubt joyless drive home from this meeting, a thought kept getting into her head "I'm going to forget you when I'm famous" she said to herself over and over again.

Fast-forward to 2020. The first season of "Listen To Your Heart" drops and all eyes are on Bri. Millions of watchers worldwide just witnessed Talent, and whoever that Manager was, he should help himself to a humility sandwich next time he thinks he can just throw dirt at people's faces like that.

"Famous" Doesn't cater just to that one man who was in the wrong all those years ago, suitably it transcended that sense of revenge and also turned into a break-up song. "Who doesn’t dream of singing “Gonna forget you when I’m famous” to an ex that made them feel less than their worth?" Says Bri, making this song out to be one for the artists and the dreamers living toxic people behind.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Samuel Aponte is Venezuelan-born raised and based. 

I joined Rival Magazine after a few years of doing PR work for independent musicians of all stripes; understanding their struggles to be heard in a sea of constant  ADHD noise and paywalled access to platforms, I now bring a willingness to always appreciate and encourage the effort and creativity that artists put into their work . Can also find some of my writings on LADYGUNN and We Found New Music.