When you think of music collaborations that fuse disparate genres, you probably don’t imagine country music and UK grime uniting in perfect harmony. But alas the pop star with the penchant for mental health issues, Anne-Marie and country luminary Shania Twain have put out the duet of the year “Unhealthy”. Anne-Marie, known for her electrifying presence, has taken a leap into uncharted musical terrain, inviting the seasoned twang of Twain into the mix.
“Unhealthy,” the album’s title track, is a meld of foot-tapping, two-step, handclaps, and a nod to country music’s penchant for participatory soundscapes. As the track plays on, Twain brings her signature country charm into the second verse, proving that the union of pop-punk and country can in fact be a symbiotic relationship.
But “Unhealthy” is about mu ch more than simply experimenting with different genres. The lyrics of the song, written by Anne-Marie, Castle, Conner, and Riley McDonough, veer away from the emotional tales that are often featured in country love songs.
The narrative instead delves into the grimmer and darker aspects of what it’s like for a woman to be in a toxic relationship with someone she can’t help but love. If it’s not good for you, then I don’t give a damn about it. | A haunting repetition that depicts this complex emotional conflict with resignation and resistance is “Cause even if it kills me, I’ll always take your hand.” The phrase “cause even if it kills me, I’ll always take your hand”
Anne-Marie has worked with mental health as a topic for over 3 albums now. Her work is of immense value to the cause of normalizing the public’s understanding of the topic. The conception of this unprecedented collaboration is a tale as contemporary as the song’s genre-bending sound. Anne-Marie initiated the project by reaching out to Twain via direct message on social media. The affirmative response saw the pair recording the track in London, England. As the anticipatory buzz built, Anne-Marie took to social media, sharing her thrill and nerves about the upcoming meeting with the country titan.
The pop-punk singer sobbed in front of her idol Shania Twain and expressed her shock and elation to her, and Twain consoled her in the midst of her emotional breakdown. After that, they shared on Instagram a celebration selfie of themselves together, in which they gave a nod to their membership in the “Unhealthy Club” and let their followers know how excited they were about the new song’s release.
“Unhealthy,” the album, is set for release on July 28, marking a new era in Anne-Marie’s ever-evolving musical journey. It follows the artist’s successful debut project, Speak Your Mind, and the subsequent Therapy. In the wake of the album release, Anne-Marie is preparing to embark on a headlining tour, set to take her through Ireland, the UK, Germany, France, and The Netherlands.
This dynamic fusion of country and UK grime in “Unhealthy” signals a promising trend for music lovers with eclectic tastes, proving that even the most unlikely genre pairings can result in compelling, chart-topping hits. As Dork Magazine encapsulated it, “Anne-Marie and Shania Twain’s ‘Unhealthy’ is the country grime team-up we never knew we needed, but now we’re left wondering how we ever lived without it.”