LISTEN: Machine Gun Kelly and Blackbear Team Up Once Again For “My Ex’s Best Friend”
LISTEN: Machine Gun Kelly and Blackbear Team Up Once Again For “My Ex’s Best Friend”
The duo reunites to deliver the pop punk track in collaboration with Blink-182’s Travis Barker
Words by: Amanda Marano
Machine Gun Kelly is on a roll with his latest release, a guitar-tinged track called “my ex’s best friend” featuring singer/songwriter/producer blackbear. The track is a pop-punk story about finding solace in an ex’s best friend. Rather than wallow in the breakup, he turns to her to find comfort – definitely a messy situation! The chorus preaches, “I swear to God, I never fall in love / Then you showed up and I can’t get enough of it / I swear to God, I never fall in love / I never fall in love, but I can’t get enough of it.”
The new era as a whole is a step in expanding his craft and defying the boundaries of genre, straying from his usual styles of rap and hip-hop and adding more synth, rock, and a little pop-punk. The single, [co-written and produced by frequent collaborator and friend, rock legend Travis Barker of Blink-182] is the latest of MGK’s infections summer releases. On his Tickets To My Downfall Spotify ‘Inspiration’ playlist, he cites artists ranging from Rage Against The Machine to Yellowcard to The Killers as influences.
Two days prior, he released his song “concert for aliens,” which he debuted on Good Morning America. Both tracks are off of his forthcoming album, Tickets to My Downfall, out on September 25th. MGK has confirmed even more upcoming collabs, including The Used’s, Bert McCracken, Trippie Redd, Young Thug, and YUNGBLUD, and even teased studio time with Goody Grace and Mod Sun.
Speaking on the project, MGK tells, “I hope that this project, for an audience broader than what’s already listening to music that has instruments in it, I hope that this album inspires some kids to go and pick a guitar up, because it really is uncommon for a 15-year-old to have been to a concert where anyone’s playing an instrument… It is weird. But I’ve had plenty of people be like, ‘Dude, this is the first time I’ve ever seen someone play a guitar live, it’s crazy, I wanna do it.’”
Also known as Colson Baker, MGK hails from Cleveland, Ohio. Beginning his career as a rapper and weaving in elements of rock and guitar, he’s already released five studio albums before the age of 30. Machine Gun Kelly is no stranger to the limelight, having previously had six Hot 100 entries, including two top 40 singles in “Bad Things” featuring Camila Cabello (No. 4) and 2018’s “Rap Devil” (No. 13). He’s also gained four top-ten placements on the Billboard 200.
Adding to his already exciting summer, MGK recently earned his first VMA nomination for his music video “Bloody Valentine”, starring his now real-life boo, Megan Fox. The video has garnered over 29 million views and received over 100 million streams globally. He’s also gaining traction in the film industry, with a feature in the upcoming August 14th Netflix release, Project Power, alongside Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
