SONG REVIEW: Jake Aldridge - "The Underdog"
By Wanda Whitley
Listening to Jake Aldridge’s latest single, "The Underdog," I was pleasantly haunted and inspired. The music is incredible. It’s melodic and ethereal beat puts me in mind of emerging out of the mists of a moor. Which is fitting, as his song about an underdog is all about coming from the bottom and rising to the top, and not giving up.
Like a swirling mist that may obscure those in our lives (or even our own selves), that we might say never have a chance, "The Underdog" breaks through the clouds and comes into the light on the winning side. Jake’s moving lyrics convey in every way the struggle of the underdog, and how hard the battle is, and how lonely it can be.
Listeners can relate to feeling like they never fit in, and having to “fight demons for your freedom," as Jake raps smoothly and sincerely the plight of the underdog. Yet in this plight, what encouragement! Jake tells us we “gotta get up” and “stop wasting our potential," and even though at the bottom, with a long way to go, we can “live in hope for tomorrow." What an inspiration this song is, as Jake reiterates to the listener in his lyrics that the underdog doesn’t need a mirror to know who he is, and he offers to “let me show you," opening himself up to reveal who he is to us, keeping it real.
Jake is showing us his heart and sharing his soul to us in this song. A very moving part of this song is his tribute to his father, who he reveals he “lost at an early age, but his love remains." He also refers to being the son of a king. And my favorite line in the song is “a gift from God, the underdog with no collar” – how humble the underdog is to recognize where his gift comes from, and what imagery that there is nothing holding this underdog back!
I will conclude this review with the beginning of this song, which is a montage of introductions of Jake Aldridge. One of the announcers introduces Jake with the underdog’s proclamation: “Don’t get discouraged, no matter what is going on in your life." This is the key to "The Underdog" coming out on the winning side – never give up. Bravo, Jake, for this brilliant song – you are definitely on the winning side with this work.
