Pick of the Week: Clairo “Sexy to Someone”

A photograph of Claire Cottrill, better known as Clairo, strumming a white electric guitar. The top third of the background has the three horizontal stripes of the bisexual pride flag (pink, purple, blue) with text that reads "WERS 88.9 Pick of the Week." The rest of the background is light blue and reads "Clairo" three times and "Sexy to Someone"
Graphics by Grace Kinney

By Avieana Rivera, Music Coordinator

In her newest single, “Sexy to Someone,” indie darling and Massachusetts native Clairo proves that the third time really is the charm. That is, this single came alongside the announcement of Clairo’s third album, Charm. In this single, Clairo harnesses her classic indie-pop sound fans are familiar with and takes it to the next level. “Sexy to Someone” is upbeat, jazzy, catchy and just what Clairo fans needed to kick off the summer. 

 

DIVING INTO THE LYRICS OF “SEXY TO SOMEONE” 

In this song, Clairo sings of being ready for new romance and wanting to be desired. Perhaps suffering from a bit of main character syndrome, the person in this song is in the mood for love and wants to be wanted wherever she goes. She opens the song with the line “Sexy to someone is all I really want,” and goes on to explain how these desires are taking over her mind. She points out specific instances where even though she’s doing mundane things like checking into a hotel, walking in the park, or going to a bar, she’s preoccupied thinking about how she wants to be perceived by others. 

In the song, she sings “Sexy is something I see in everything,” displaying just how eager she is for love. It’s all she thinks about, and she finds it in everything. It’s almost as if she has a crush on the idea of having a crush. The bridge of the song comes as a moment of pleading. She repeats the line “I want to be sexy to someone” and interrupts with questions. “Is that too much to ask?,” she wonders. And then, “Then what’s holding you back?” Affirming her desire for love to herself, she answers her question, “It’s not too much to ask.” This comes to listeners as a familiar moment in the crushing process, when you begin feeling ridiculous for even having a crush at all. With this line, Clairo affirms that she’s not asking for too much, and that she deserves something good and fun in her life. 

The themes of this song play into ‘crush culture’ in more ways than one— another being the giddy excitement that comes along with a new romance in your life. Throughout the song, she sings “Sexy to someone, it would help me out. Oh, I need a reason to get out of the house,” referencing the period of time in a new relationship when all you can think about is your lover, and the chance of running into them is enough to get you out of the house. In this song, Clairo wants more than people to find her attractive. She wants romance, excitement and to be seen by someone else. 

 

WHAT’S NEXT FOR CLAIRO? 

Clairo’s newest album Charm, will be released on July 12th. The follow-up to 2021’s Sling will contain 11 songs, and is already available for pre-order and pre-save wherever you listen to music. Clairo also announced two five-show residencies at the Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles and Webster Hall in New York. These will kick off in September, but do not worry if these aren’t near you— Clairo has assured fans that more tour dates are on the way. 

 

Every Monday, our music staff brings you a new Pick of The Week, detailing some of our favorite songs. Check out our previous Picks of the Week here, and make sure to tune in to WERS 88.9FM!

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