Well, since you asked…
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[5.33]
Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: This kind of song — a big stately ballad about gender roles and race relations and broken dreams — is maybe the hardest kind to do. On one end you have glib, underwritten bromides about togetherness and whiggish progress that handwave the struggle away. On the other you have musical units of trauma fetishism, meaningfully meaningless PSA-bait. It’s a tough line to tow — even the best pop artists continue to fail at it. Yet Mickey Guyton does exactly what she needs to do here. The production is restrained but not empty, her vocals save their fire for the most pointed moments, and the lyrics are specific without being ridiculous. “What Are You Gonna Tell Her” is a best case scenario for this kind of ballad, a triumph that works based on its attention to detail.
[8]
Alfred Soto: Well-said, restrained even, yet these virtues don’t cohere into surprise.
[3]
Ryo Miyauchi: Without some of its early inclusions of the personal — the lyric about her skin, and especially the sharply specific one about “her” older brother — “What Are You Gonna Tell Her” could’ve been another well-intentioned yet flawed call to arms in country that ends up being too one-size-fits-all. It gives each series of questions an extra sting, with more consequence if they’re left unanswered. Also clever is how Mickey Guyton finishes the song musically unresolved, the last chord leaving an unsettled air almost like a mic drop.
[5]
Katie Gill: This is a very lovely song that is absolutely NOT going to get any airplay. Guyton pours her all into it, powerhouse vocals accompanied by a beautiful sparse piano and minimal strings. The idea of the song is strong and beautiful, a punch to the gut that’s ruined a bit by the reality, which seems to take a kitchen-sink approach to all the problems that can happen to our protagonist (what can go wrong? EVERYTHING). Still, the sentiment is lovely, Guyton’s voice delicately walks the line between sincere and overwrought, and I can’t get over what a smart idea that minimalist accompaniment is.
[5]
Ian Mathers: The didactic point is well taken but, to be blunt, the fact that I don’t have an answer is part of why my wife and I also don’t have any kids. My friends and relatives who do have kids might not have a snappy answer for her, but it’s not exactly the kind of issue they haven’t considered, and I’m not sure what turning the screws on them accomplishes.
[4]
Edward Okulicz: This is meticulous and beautiful. You need a really empathetic voice to sell a song like it, and Guyton has one (you can imagine this in the hands of, say, Alessia Cara, but don’t). I can’t think of too many songs about daughters, or having them, outside country. But on the one hand, it scratches my feelings of righteousness because I agree with every word, while making me feel numb because it’s not me that needs to hear it. So I’ll just appreciate the care that went into making it.
[7]