feelings

Willow Smith’s Teen Angst Phase Has Begun

Photo: Soundcloud

When last we heard from Willow Smith, she was singing a motivational ballad about being herself and shredding on a tiny keyboard. Yeah, that’s over. Willow is 12 now and, if her new song is any indication, deep into the hate-the-world, only-wanna-Tumble phase of modern adolescence. The bummer ballad in question is called “Sugar and Spice,” though it is really about how Willow tried to be both of those things and could not. Instead, she is melancholy; she has regrets; she fears the monsters under her bed. If that is not enough sadness for you, then consider the URL for her Soundcloud and aforementioned Tumblr — “saulepleurant,” which means (more or less) weeping willow in French. Then there’s her user name — “arbre mort,” or dead tree. Not that we don’t support good old-fashioned teen drama and Internet oversharing in all its forms, but Willow! Chin up, kid! Not everything is as hopeless as French class. We promise.

Willow Smith’s Teen Angst Phase Has Begun