Anna Akana, a Youtube influencer best known for her videos directed at helping young women, released a song about drugs and alcohol abuse called “Intervention”. The song tells a story about Akana and her struggle with people telling her she needs an intervention. Akana has a lot to boast about: she’s been a comedian since she was a teenager, has around 2.5 million youtube subscribers, and became a suicide awareness activist.

The music video shows a series of different clips of her drinking and doing a variety of illicit substances while also cutting to clips of her in Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. The song had a lot of potential due to its provocative meaning but seems to have fallen flat.

Her opening notes, while in key, skip from low notes to high with no transition, no doubt trying to make an impression on the listener. As the song proceeds, she tries her hand at slow rapping through a repetitive chorus of “I don’t need to intervention”. It’s a defiant message but seems to lose its meaning through the chants that total to over ten times throughout the three and a half minute song.

Despite the intriguing music video with amazing graphic editing that travels with Akana through her journey downwards, the viewer/listener starts to lose attention after about two and a half minutes. As stated above, it turns into a mush of repetition and flashing lights. It’s a puppy wrapped up under the Christmas tree except the Christmas tree is on fire.

Akana had a moving message in her song as well as music video, but it needed better representation and production. Her lyrics fell flat when they began to spin circles around each other, but there’s always hope for better in the next song release.