With “the real deal,” Young Friend finally delivers a sound that lives up to its name. Where his earlier work bounced between hip-hop, pop, and punk rock, this latest track shows the Vancouver native settling into something more assured.
A surprising country twist permeates through the song, reflecting the wider genre-blurring trend in the music industry currently, with artists like Beyoncé, Lana Del Rey, and Post Malone pushing the country’s boundaries and expanding its reach.
In 2023, country music made a historic impact on the charts, breaking several Billboard records and seizing mainstream attention. Streaming platforms saw a 23% surge in country music consumption, largely driven by Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time, which held the top spot on the Billboard 200 for 19 weeks—the longest run ever for a country album. By August, country achieved another milestone: for the first time, the top three spots on the Billboard Hot 100 were occupied by country songs—Wallen’s "Last Night," Jason Aldean’s "Try That in a Small Town," and Luke Combs’ cover of Tracy Chapman’s "Fast Car."
Some argue that country music's resurgence has been building for years. In 2019, Lil Nas X’s Old Town Road, featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, defied genre expectations to become the year’s top song on the Billboard Hot 100. Perhaps this was the moment that hinted at country’s evolving appeal and helped pave the way for its current mainstream dominance.
Young Friend’s take on country feels refreshingly understated. Rather than trend-chasing, he seems to embrace the vulnerability and storytelling at the heart of country music while staying true to his indie roots—a difficult balance that many have struggled to master (And honestly, I’ve found it hard to get behind most artists’ recent country experiments).
With its delicate guitar plucks, soft harmonica, and ethereal, reverb-soaked harmonies, “the real deal” creates a space that feels as comforting as it does introspective—less like revisiting an old friend and more like discovering they've grown alongside you.
Still, the question remains: is this the beginning of a new direction for Young Friend, or just a brief detour on his musical journey? Only time will tell.
