Sony Music Entertainment

Release Date: August 12th 2022

Reviewed by: Joshua Andre

Rachel Wammack– Like Me (Single) (Amazon mp3/iTunes)

Track Listing:

1. Like Me

These days, I’m always on the lookout for new music. It’s been the blog series about influential artists, that has pushed me out of my comfort zone musically; but more than that, it’s made me realise that I’m really limiting what kind of music speaks to my soul and my spirit if I just listen to CCM. But these days, I listen to all kinds of music (aside from the metal genre!), and I have many playlists on Spotify- some curated by Spotify and some created by myself. Anyway, it was through one of these playlists that I found out about rising country singer Rachel Wammack– it was through her latest song “Like Me”. And though her discography isn’t the biggest, what Rachel lacks in number of songs is what she makes up for in her passion and her big heart. Vocally, Rachel is incredibly impressive, and a joy to listen to; and though there hasn’t been a full-length debut album from Rachel as of yet; I truly believe that she will be one of the biggest stars within the next few months and years- within the country music scene and also beyond that as well.

I started believing the lies Satan was telling me. I started believing that my personality wasn’t good enough and my body wasn’t fit enough, and I certainly wasn’t pretty enough to be successful. I even started believing that my home wasn’t even Instagram-worthy. It was a lot.

I was getting to play the Grand Ole Opry and getting to tour with people like Brett Young and Trisha Yearwood and I was playing the Ryman for the first time with Bobby Bones. Truly, these were some of the greatest moments of that season of my life.

[but comparison and becoming enamoured with the lives my fellow rising stars were sharing on their ultra-filtered social media channels] …it was slowly eating me alive creatively. I was doing so much, but it didn’t feel like enough because I constantly had my head on a swivel looking around at other people, so much so that I couldn’t even appreciate my own life.

The only way to connect with fans was through social media and I already had, at that point, determined that I had a hard time expressing myself on social media. I’m just naturally an in-person kind of gal. It just overtook me. I just felt like I wasn’t enough in every way.

I remember there was a super beautiful sunset right outside our back porch, and my husband was like, ‘Hey, come check this out…this is amazing’. I looked out, but first I had to grab my phone. In that moment, I realized that I couldn’t even enjoy a sunset, this artwork from God, without showing it to the rest of the world. It kind of broke me. It was something so small and so simple.

[“Like Me”] it’s a love note to me and a reminder to the world. It’s a specific message dealing with a specific wound in so many people’s lives. And a specific wound for me. It’s the most vulnerable I’ve ever been.

For the first time, I get to choose whose opinion matters to me. I’m not everybody’s cup of tea and that’s OK. That was a hard thing for me to reckon with. But now, I feel like people are more drawn to me now that I like myself.

Rachel’s story of social media addiction, as included above in this ‘review’ in full, reminds us that we all are human and everyday we can fall for our vices even when we don’t want to, or even when we think we’re fine. The song “Like Me”, born out of Rachel’s intense addiction to people’s positive opinions about her, also delves into meaty issues; and as Rachel inspires us to be vulnerable and authentic and unapologetic about who we are, as well as not wanting to fit in just to be in the ‘in group’; “Like Me” inspires us to run against the norm and to say no to fitting in when it is at the expense of our values, morals and beliefs. As Rachel sings out that ‘…what’s the worst that could happen if I don’t fit in? If I could stay me [in] every room that I walk in instead of changing my colors like I’m a chameleon, trying to be somebody else so they’ll like me, when she ain’t anything like me…’, we are presented with a flawed logic. People want to pretend to be someone else so that ‘that special someone or that important someone’ likes them. But that isn’t the case. The people that you’re trying to please… well, they like a version of you that doesn’t exist. Everybody knows that people exaggerate and inflate on social media. We know it in our heads, but our hearts say something else. Rachel in this track reminds us that we shouldn’t really change who we are to please others; and for this profound truth, we need to really listen to this song and let it all sink in.

Rachel Wammack is a rising star and an artist that will undoubtedly be on everyone’s lips within the coming weeks, months and years. There’s nothing much more I need to say about Rachel… because you all need to listen to this song, and then her entire discography. I first heard about Rachel’s music through Rascal Flatt’s final EP, and a duet she did with Gary. But Rachel is a bonafide burgeoning artist and one to definitely look out for in the future. Well done Rachel for this confronting, powerful and impacting track, guaranteed to create discussion and healthy debate! I can’t wait to hear what’s next in store for you in the future!

Score: 5/5

RIYL: Alana Springsteen, Hannah Ellis, Leanna Crawford, Hannah Kerr, Jana Kramer, The McClymonts