“Blueberry Eyes,” “Love Me Less” and “Lights Down Low.”
These are among Max Schneider’s most popular songs, each garnering well over 150 million streams on Spotify.
And now, the singer-songwriter, actor and model who also goes by “MAX” has released another hit.
Having reached Double-Platinum status for “Lights Down Low” after selling 2 million copies, MAX produced “Butterflies,” featuring Iraqi-Canadian singer Ali Gatie, over the summer. Since then, the song has collected nearly 5 million views on YouTube and 34 million plays on Spotify.
MAX opens his music video by clasping a gold butterfly necklace on his pregnant wife, Emily. By using his real-life spouse in the music video, it leads listeners to assume the artist wrote the song for her specifically. He breaks the silence with the lyrics, “You could give me chills on a summer day.”
The lines to follow introduce a slow, calming tempo that works to compliment the heartfelt lyrics. This makes the listener feel the atmosphere of romantic love that MAX is trying to convey to the point in which even some listeners/music video audiences may be able to relate to the lyrics.
The next scene shows the couple celebrating and playing with their newborn daughter with the following verse: “I won’t stop getting butterflies / I get ’em every time I look into your eyes.” The lyrics talk about how MAX still gets nervous when he looks at his wife, hence the figurative title of the song. Noticeably, the beat and the lyrics get louder, foreshadowing a transition for the listener/viewer.
Gatie then takes over, making his first appearance a minute into the music video with the lyrics: “I still fall in love with you every time I see your eyes.”
With a change in artist comes a very distinct change in tone. Compared with MAX’s high-pitched voice, Gatie’s vocals provide a vibrant, mellow sound. This blend offers a different style of music while not straying too far from the original.
Similar to MAX’s romantic scene in the music video, Gatie’s appearance consists of happily being in a relationship with an actress posing as his significant other, further emphasizing the overarching message of the song: everlasting love.
The last segment of the music video provides a montage of the Schneider timeline as a family from raising the couple’s baby daughter to seeing her off to a wedding — a fitting end for a song revolving around constant euphoric love.
Although the song does not have any outlying factors that separate it from other mainstream music such as incredible vocals or revolutionary melodies, “Butterflies” fits well into the current pop category.
Possessing the key elements of a deep message, a catchy melody and lyrics that are easy to remember and sing along to, the pop single should be well on its way to the top of MAX’s list of most popular songs.
And of course, the “Butterflies” music video is worth viewing as well.
