First rising to success with “Stacy’s Side,” a parody of Fountain of Wayne’s “Stacy’s Mom,” Walk On Mars is basking in her independence. On September 13th, she put out her first independently released single following her debut album, titled “Voodoo Barbie.” The pop punk singer-songwriter, otherwise known as Mary Jo Swank, is not letting men’s preconceptions of her stop her from creating music that is authentic to her.
Although Walk On Mars’ sound may be reminiscent of Meet Me @ The Altar or Avril Lavigne, her aim as an artist is to break free from gender stereotypes, which she achieves in her newest single. The singer’s aim for “Voodoo Barbie” is to serve as an “anthem for independent women,” and she calls out the double standards in music. Stemming from her history with misogyny throughout her professional life, the single addresses the limitations imposed on herself as a result of a male-centric industry stifling her identity as an artist: “I deserve all the credit / But he gets all the blame / My reputation’s killing me / I can’t give up my dignity.”
Subverting the confines of feminine submission, Walk On Mars assures she “can speak for [herself]” and that she doesn’t “need masculine help.” She plays with the feminized “Barbie” character in this song, going as far as to allude to the toy’s male counterpart: “I’ll kick Ken down a well then throw a party.” The song’s title references the line, “I’m the villain I’m not / A voodoo Barbie,” flipping the narrative of how she is more than just her beauty, which she addresses in the electrifying bridge: “But if I leaked the plan / Would people really believe / That I put beauty after brains.”
The songwriter leans into a bubblegum pop rhythm in her tongue-in-cheek hooks, mocking the narrative structure female singers are boxed into while actually flipping the notion on its head with her eye-roll lyrics. This is further satirized with typical pop punk guitars and annunciations typical to the genre.
Walk On Mars’ new single is a great representation of not letting anyone’s doubt keep you from succeeding on your own terms.
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