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Entries We Love: AYVIO, 'Grow Up'

Hometown: Lawton, Okla.

Pairs Well With: Cooking a late breakfast in your pjs on a Saturday afternoon

From a silly thematic intro to the song's cheeky and relatable lyrics, AYVIO's "Grow Up" is a charming, fully entertaining production. The theatrics here are enough to hook – but the song really reels it in. A jovial melody underlines a vulnerable song about grappling with the disheartening realities of chasing a "childlike" dream that's never quite in reach. AYVIO's bars are both cheerfully optimistic and apprehensive (which might be why it resonates so much with a 20-something lost kid like myself).

In the middle of the song there's an a capella, lunch-room-style music break that will have you bobbing your head and jigging as he reflects on the letdowns of pursuing his music career. "Left me feeling deflated / Quitting, I contemplated / Am I overrated? / Is my music outdated," he raps atop a classroom table. No, AYVIO – your music is far from overrated or outdated. If I could say one thing to AYVIO, I'd yell from my own table top, "Never grow up!"

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Taylor Jennings-Brown
Taylor Jennings-Brown is a 2021-2022 Kroc Fellow. She is a thoughtful writer from Durham, North Carolina and is a spring 2021 graduate from the University of South Carolina, where she received her bachelor's degree in mass communications and anthropology.
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