The song tells a sad story, but to really understand the emotion of how Mike feels I strongly recommend listening to the orignal version of the song that is acoustic.
So in the beginning Mike is telling us a story of how his downward spiral started that led him into his somewhat depressed feeling. He took a pill from someone at an Avicii concert to impress the people around him and show them he was "cool", because celebrities and musicians are supposed to party without consequences, right? Well when he comes down off his high, he feels terrible. But he just kind of passes it off as "oh well, that was stupid but it was a one time thing and I'll move on". But things lead to him doing more stereotypical rich celebrity things just to fit in with everyone and because that's what everyone thinks is cool about being rich and famous, doing and buying whatever you want.
Mike starts to realize that he's kind of losing himself and that the fame is getting to his head. He feels stuck doing these things because maybe that's what people see him as now and he feels he has to keep it up to seem cool or impressive, but he's not really enjoying it after a while.
In the second verse, Mike explains how his fame is fading because he was sort of a one-hit wonder and his song got old, so now no one really think about him now. He gets with a lot of girls, probably using his fame, but has to put on the mask of the celebrity version of Mike that everyone is used to. He's basically faking confidence and acting like someone he's not. He doesn't like what his life has become though and is afraid to get into a real relationship because he doesn't feel he can really be himself around someone because then he wouldn't be who they assumed he was (the celebrity persona).
In the third verse he visits his hometown because he's sick of the LA lifestyle and needs to get away. He goes home to try to figure himself out, trying to remember his roots. Things have changed around his neighborhood and his friends are gone, another symbol of change that bums him out. The city has moved on without him and even though he should feel comfortable being back home again, he again feels alienated. Some people in his city are well aware of him though because he is famous now and from their city, so they feel pride. After meeting some of these people, it is obvious they really look up to him because he "made it". They assume being a celebrity is awesome. So Mike tries to explain to them that it's not as great as it seems because it changes how you behave and the people you hang out with.
The chorus explains that becoming famous introduced him to a lot of activities he wouldn't normally do and with people who aren't true friends. After having a lot of money and fame, he's unhappy and alone. Everyone assumes being a pop star is all fun and games, but Mike is saying the party lifestyle isn't for him but he's stuck pretending that's who he is. He's depressed and all that comes to mind when he tries to write or sing music is sad songs because they match his mood.
It's a really sad song and tells an interesting story that we don't hear much from the rich and famous. Although the popular remix is fun and catchy, it does the lyrics an injustice and Mike himself has said it's ironic that people have so much fun listening to the remix version.
The song tells a sad story, but to really understand the emotion of how Mike feels I strongly recommend listening to the orignal version of the song that is acoustic.
So in the beginning Mike is telling us a story of how his downward spiral started that led him into his somewhat depressed feeling. He took a pill from someone at an Avicii concert to impress the people around him and show them he was "cool", because celebrities and musicians are supposed to party without consequences, right? Well when he comes down off his high, he feels terrible. But he just kind of passes it off as "oh well, that was stupid but it was a one time thing and I'll move on". But things lead to him doing more stereotypical rich celebrity things just to fit in with everyone and because that's what everyone thinks is cool about being rich and famous, doing and buying whatever you want.
Mike starts to realize that he's kind of losing himself and that the fame is getting to his head. He feels stuck doing these things because maybe that's what people see him as now and he feels he has to keep it up to seem cool or impressive, but he's not really enjoying it after a while.
In the second verse, Mike explains how his fame is fading because he was sort of a one-hit wonder and his song got old, so now no one really think about him now. He gets with a lot of girls, probably using his fame, but has to put on the mask of the celebrity version of Mike that everyone is used to. He's basically faking confidence and acting like someone he's not. He doesn't like what his life has become though and is afraid to get into a real relationship because he doesn't feel he can really be himself around someone because then he wouldn't be who they assumed he was (the celebrity persona).
In the third verse he visits his hometown because he's sick of the LA lifestyle and needs to get away. He goes home to try to figure himself out, trying to remember his roots. Things have changed around his neighborhood and his friends are gone, another symbol of change that bums him out. The city has moved on without him and even though he should feel comfortable being back home again, he again feels alienated. Some people in his city are well aware of him though because he is famous now and from their city, so they feel pride. After meeting some of these people, it is obvious they really look up to him because he "made it". They assume being a celebrity is awesome. So Mike tries to explain to them that it's not as great as it seems because it changes how you behave and the people you hang out with.
The chorus explains that becoming famous introduced him to a lot of activities he wouldn't normally do and with people who aren't true friends. After having a lot of money and fame, he's unhappy and alone. Everyone assumes being a pop star is all fun and games, but Mike is saying the party lifestyle isn't for him but he's stuck pretending that's who he is. He's depressed and all that comes to mind when he tries to write or sing music is sad songs because they match his mood.
It's a really sad song and tells an interesting story that we don't hear much from the rich and famous. Although the popular remix is fun and catchy, it does the lyrics an injustice and Mike himself has said it's ironic that people have so much fun listening to the remix version.