David Archuleta - Crème Brulée

There is a certain sweet douleur to Crème Brulée by David Archuleta.  On the surface this song is pure bubble-gum (just the way great pop should be) but underneath it there is a kind of sensual sadness running through it and something much sharper than its “sugary and caramelized” exterior.  The speaker (we can’t automatically assume it’s David) is well aware of their allure but also that their ethnicity has been eroticised – and we're preety sure it’s not the first time either.  After all, when you package yourself as a dessert, you’ve probably been objectified more than once.

This song absolutely captures that sweet douleur - the pleasure of desire tangled with the ache of knowing it won’t last.  It’s layered though – the “speaker” might seem somewhat heartless but there’s also something melancholic in how quickly the passion fades — from “singing my praises” to being discarded just as easily as clothes on the floor. It’s exhilarating, yes, but also a little sad - like the sweetness of crème brûlée that’s gone too soon.  Talking of which – the song’s protagonist is really the opposite of that popular dessert – he’s harder on the inside than the outside.  Yet there is no victim here.  This is a knowing protagonist who is fully aware of his attractions and takes them all on board with a cheekily opportunistic pragmatism (is there even a hint of self-satisfaction?). 

Or maybe I’m just reading too much into this!

No, I’m not. The song is knowing, socially political and wistful all at the same time.  The lyricists (David Archuleta, Robyn Dell’Unto, Ryan Nealon) are a clever bunch as this song does something that not many do – it goes beyond words.  Hats off, too, to choreographers the JA Collective who with great panache really show how to fluidly interpret a song.