Tommy Bravos is Incredibly Charming on New Single

Chicago based pop star Tommy Bravos has released his first new song in almost a year and let me tell you it was worth the wait! In fact, Charming is the best song Tommy has released to date. Whereas Tommy's earlier songs reflected his classical piano training and singing with a dash of 80s New Wave, Charming sees Tommy coming into his own as an out and proud pop star.

Charming is the perfect title for this song because it's very alluring. On Charming, Tommy dives into late 70s dance music recalling artists like Donna Summer and Pablo Cruise while giving it enough of a modern twist to also recall more recent dance acts such as Daft Punk. Donna Summer in particular though seems to be the biggest influence here as Charming sounds like it could have easily been included on Summer's 1979 double album Bad Girls.

Right from the start we have a bass line that slaps harder than anything Tommy has released thus far. That bass line pulls you right in and once that sexy but subtle sax slides in right before the main chorus I was in pop heaven. I'm a huge fan of the saxophone in pop music so once I heard the sax I knew there was no way I could resist Charming. By the time we reach the main chorus where the funky guitars come out it feels like we're having the time of our lives at Studio 54.

Lyrically the song sees Tommy trying to gain the attention of a man but my favorite lyric is when Tommy sings:

"I don't need the Velvet shame
Won't you open your eyes
Maybe realize baby
I don't want no other name."

Here Tommy subtlety hints at the internalized shame that can plague the gay community when he sings about the Velvet shame which I assume is a reference to The Velvet Rage. The Velvet Rage is a book that discussed in length how gay man struggle to come to terms with their homosexuality while growing up in a straight man's world. Here it sounds like Tommy is telling his lover he has no time to deal with this toxic shame and is ready to take their relationship to the next level.

I can easily see this song being played at the gay clubs as well as all the pride events this year and I'm already adding it to 5 of my playlists on Spotify! Tommy has always been an incredibly talented singer and musician but with Charming it feels like Tommy has truly graduated to being a genuine pop star. I'm more excited then ever to see where he goes from this point forward!