MGK-Cliche- Analysis 2

 

https://youtu.be/m4DVbm9zeR0?si=lp85DKy8nbeA-tCV

Cliché – MGK, VVAVES, No Love For The Middle Child - 23 May 2025 - United States

This week, I decided to choose a song that is played almost every single morning in my house. My children love it, I love it, my husband doesn’t care for it but still ends up singing it! Cliché by MGK. When people think about Machine Gun Kelly, they usually think about rap and pop and even a little bit of rock sometimes but never really show true emotion or vulnerability. With “cliché”, he gives us just that while also giving us 2000’s pop rock vibes and I am so here for it! Here’s a breakdown of five key elements I pick out of this piece.



Melody-

The melody in “cliché” doesn’t have super drastic jumps at first. The beginning of the song starts off giving a conversational tone and then stretches with the first chorus and continues to get higher. I believe this allows a pull of interest and attention wanting to hear what he has to say. In the beginning it’s like he’s holding back a little bit and then he just lets out this huge emotional confession.

Harmony-

The harmony of this song gives pop vibes all the way around and it is soooo catchy! Nothing about harmony is very complex and the chords allow the lyrics and tone to really shine throughout the song. The harmony feels recognizable. It brings us back to Y2K alternative rock and throws in some modern pop chords that brings a universality where it touches the 90s-2000s kids and still brings in a fresh enough sound that it’s grabbing the attention of current generations as well (Kelia).

Rhythm-

The rhythm holds a steady groove that’s easy to bop to, as I like to say. You can easily tap your foot and bob your head to this one. The drum pattern is consistent and doesn’t overpower the vocals and allows for grounding. The song feels more reflective, allowing space to feel and process the lyrics. The consistency also mirrors rumination. I think it also helps this song get stuck in your head very easily as well.

Lyrics-

Lyrically, this song provides a vulnerable confession about love and regret. The lyrics show emotional patterns in relationships in a reflective, conversational tone. This creates relatability through honesty. This allows the song to feel less like a performance as well. I think if you take the musical elements away and if you were to put the lyrics to a slower tempo, a softer pace and beat, it would completely change the vibe of the song from a fun 2000s-modern day pop punk mashup to a super sad maybe even country song.

Timbre-

MGK’s vocal tones in this song specifically feel a bit different than his usual sound and honestly, I love that for him. His voice carries a slight rasp, especially in unstrained notes. The vocal grit provides a level of authenticity and contrast that shows imperfection. I believe this allows us to connect on a deeper level because it feels as though he was being more vulnerable to his listeners.



Opinions and Views-

“Cliché” has been a SUPER controversial song since its release. Some listeners say that “Cliché” is a well-polished, undeniably catchy piece while others say it’s terrible and created by one of the ‘worst singers of our generation’ (Stay Free Radio, Freeman). Nonetheless, it was in the charts top 50 for 7 weeks (Official Charts)!

 

Sources:

Kelia. “MGK ‘cliché’.” Out Now Magazine, 27 May 2025. https://outnowmagazine.com/mgk-cliche/ Accessed 23 February 2026.

“MGK Cliché Meaning and Review.” Stay Free Radio, 23 May 2025, https://www.stayfreeradioip.com/post/mgk-cliche-meaning-and-review  Accessed 24 February 2026.

Freemon, Carter. “Song Review: MGK-Cliché.” Musings on Music. 27 May 2025. https://cfreemon.substack.com/p/song-review-mgk-cliche  Accessed 24 February 2026.

“Cliché-MGK.” Official Charts. https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/mgk-cliche/ Accessed 24 February 2026.

Comments

  1. Taylor DavisFebruary 24, 2026 at 8:22 AM

    Test

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sally PetersFebruary 26, 2026 at 9:45 PM

    Hi! I have never really listened to MGK and I was kind of expecting something completely different. Overall, I liked the song! I think that the along with the song being named cliché, the vibe of the song might be considered as cliché by some people. I think that people might think this because of the theme on love, and the pop vibes of the harmony. However, I don't really think the song is cliché because of the vulnerability and lyrics.

    ReplyDelete

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