Priscilla Block’s “Just About Over You” is still a Top 15 song at country radio, but that didn’t stop her from releasing her new teenage anthem, “Peaked in High School” today.
The song – a clever, updated female version of Toby Keith’s “How Do You Like Me Now?” — includes the lyrics:
Back when we were stuffing bras| Eighth-grade gossip in the halls| Then freshman year you called me fat at the pool| Spent sophomore skipping class| Then junior year you want it back| By senior year you were way too damn cool| Well, look who peaked in high school.
“This song takes me back to a place of my life that I was so insecure,” Block admits. “You know, whether it was me moving to Nashville and a lot of people looking at me being like, ’Why are you doing that?’ Or, you know, the way that I felt, you know, with the constant comparison in high school, I was feeling like I had to be something that I wasn’t.”
Block grew up listening to pop and rap music and notes that body positivity is a part of artists’ platforms in those genres. She notes that is missing from country music, and she hopes that being a curvy girl in the spotlight empowers girls of all sizes to embrace who they are and chase their dreams.
“Everyone was so beautiful,” she says. “God, I always wanted to look like Carrie Underwood, and that will never happen. You know? Like these legs will never look like hers. But I am excited that girls can look at me and be like, ’You know what? She didn’t have to become something she’s not to get where she’s at today.”
The message of “Peaked in High School” is what she wishes someone had told her.
At the end of the song, she sings:
“If you’re sitting all alone, I want you to know I was there, it got me here, and I’m thankful I didn’t peak in high school.”