Paris Hilton is known for being an icon of the early 2000s. She first gained stardom in 2003 with the release of her hit reality show “The Simple Life” which would go on the air for five seasons and get a reboot, which is currently in the process of being filmed. In 2006, she released her debut album “Paris,” which peaked at number 6 on the Billboard Top 200. One of the more iconic songs on the album, “Stars Are Blind” peaked at No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100, and remains Hilton’s only song to make it onto the list.
On Sept. 6 of this year, 18 years after her debut, Hilton released her long awaited return to pop music with “Infinite Icon.” Compared to her debut album, which capitalized on her hot, party girl image, her latest release takes a somewhat different approach. Although some of her songs are still about being hot and going out, a portion of them also dive deeper into the struggles she has faced. Buried within the album is an inspiring message about resilience, self-growth and stardom, showing how much Hilton has grown and matured over the years. Unfortunately, it’s hidden under the excessive use of autotune. Despite her icon status, the album is anything but iconic. She has a strong opener, “Welcome Back,” and a solid closer, “Adored,” but few songs in between would also fall into those classifications. Those that do, we can attribute to the featured artists on the tracks which provide balance to the heavily autotuned Hilton.
Although upbeat and fun, the majority of the songs sound out-dated and unremarkable, which stems from the synthetic beats and autotune. The songs that stand out among the rest are “I’m Free (Feat. Rina Sawayama),” “BBA (Feat. Megan Thee Stallion),” “If The Earth Is Spinning (Feat. Sia)” and “Without Love (Feat. Maria Becerra).” The remaining songs on the album are not even close to being what fans were hoping and expecting her to deliver. They lack heart and taste and come off with no subtlety towards the album’s intended message. One line from her song “ADHD” sings, “I was so down, thought I’d never be free / My superpower was right inside, see? / It was ADHD.” With a great intended message about discovering a part of yourself and coming to terms with a diagnosis that changes the way you look at yourself, the lyrical and auditory aspects of the song fall short of conveying that message in a convincing way.
This year we have seen the success of a multitude of pop albums; “brat” from Charli xcx, “eternal sunshine” from Ariana Grande, “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” from Chappell Roan and, most recently, “Short n’ Sweet” from Sabrina Carpenter. Although competition was tough, Hilton’s sophomore album is a failed attempt to stay relevant in a constantly changing society. So many artists attempt to “reinvent” themselves in order to appeal to new audiences of a new generation; however, these attempts ultimately fall short, because they no longer appeal to the audience that made them successful to begin with and completely miss the mark of what appeals to the latest generations. Despite featuring a multitude of talented artists and having a few strong songs, it is not enough to save the album from falling into obscurity. “Infinite Icon” does provide listeners with a throwback to Y2K, an attempt at impactful messages and fun, synthetic dance beats, but it fails to cross the threshold into being a great and iconic album.
