Being different doesn’t have to be a bad thing. We’ve collected some stand out pop and rock songs about being different whatever your situation may be, whether you’re being bullied for your uniqueness, on different pages in your relationship, accepting yourself for who you truly are or striving to be the positive partner your crush deserves.
Songs About Being Different
1. Hulio – Different Is Ok
Hulio’s 2021 release, Different Is OK, is a sweet pop track bearing a bright, inspiring message uniquely crafted and sung from a child’s perspective.
Child vocalist, Hulio, puts a fresh spin on the concept of being different, his track’s lyrics exploring how to recognise a good friend amongst the bad ones using innocently simple anecdotes that echo through every generation;
“A good friend is a hero is someone I can trust, is someone I can ask to play some rock and roll.”
Weaving his verses with learned wisdom in discerning true friends from fake friends, Hulio’s chorus captures the pure essence of his topic, the grammatical error cementing his point, intentionally or not; “So listen what I say, being different is ok.”
2. Stone Poney – Different Drum
Stone Poney’s 1967 pop release, Different Drum, is fashioned as a breakup conversation between a woman who thrives on independence and a man hopelessly in love with her.
Against a wistful, acoustic soundscape padded hauntingly with strings evoking both personal power and mournful longing, Stone Poney’s titling phrase addresses the irreparable disharmony of ideals between two partners, leading one to finally make the change;
“You and I travel to the beat of a different drum… I ain’t saying you ain’t pretty, all I’m saying is I’m not ready, for any person, place or thing to try and pull the reins in on me.”
Different Drum is an eloquently emotional, retro piece for anyone landing on a different page to their lover when it comes to commitment and long-term goals.
3. Rachel Lynn – Dare To Be Different
Rachel Lynn’s 2013 country-inspired pop single, Dare To Be Different, tackles the topic of being different using a story of bullying and prevention.
This is an eye-opening anthem for the anti-bullying movement, detailing the stories of various, unconnected teens outcast from their peer groups and battling abuse in silence.
Opening her lyrics on the violent demonstrations and aftermath of physical bullying, Lynn devotes just as much time to the discrete, unobserved signs of verbal and emotional abuse found taking place in the classroom;
“The teacher don’t hear all the rumours spread, or the notebook saying how I wish I was dead.”
Lynn anchors her chorus in themes of strength, self-confidence and perseverance, the victim of her story gaining inspiring belief that it’s okay to stand out from your peers and earn their respect through unique courage;
“Everybody says that she’s broken, but I think she’s just bent, dare to be different. Who wrote the book on what is right? What makes me so wrong? I know my time here will be well spent ’cause I dare, dare to be different.”
4. DJ Snake ft. Lauv – A Different Way
DJ Snake & Lauv’s radio-pop style collab, A Different Way, promises to be the different type of partner your crush craved and lacked in their last relationship.
Celebrating positive change, turning a new leaf and letting go of trauma, this track is devoted to uplifting your new lover with genuine, unconditional support, healing their own difference in opinion of what relationships are like;
“I will come running when you call my name, even a broken heart can beat again, forget about the one who caused you pain, I swear I’ll love you in a different way.”
A Different Way is a feel-good anthem for anyone seeking to shower their crush with perspective-changing optimism and adoration, compared to the heartbreak they endured before, whilst painting difference in a distinctly positive light; “So let me redefine you, and you can see the tide move.”
5. Lenka – Unique
Lenka’s 2015 indie pop single, Unique, is centred in a nostalgic early ‘10s ukelele soundscape, bestowing a carefree summertime aura to her track about self-acceptance.
Unique is lyrically layered with a myriad of opposite and clashing perspectives, each illustrating the feeling of being happily different from those around you, evoking an almost psychedelic nature through their poetic contrast and realistic absurdity;
“I am happy to be sad, it’s funny when I am mad… I am lonely in a crowd, and I am quiet when it’s loud… I love you when you’re mean, I feel dirty when I’m clean.”
Unique is threaded together by the self-confidence to embrace your oddities, differences and eccentric distinctions from the monotonous world surrounding you, whilst keeping love for those who don’t live the same obscure life you’ve chosen;
“I like to move around to different beat, I’ll walk away then smile in my own street, and I don’t really mind when you are fake, ’cause I am me and that’s unique… Might look a little funny but that’s okay, ’cause I am me and that’s unique.”
6. Marshmello & Demi Lovato – OK Not To Be OK
Marshmello and Demi Lovato’s 2020 pop collab, OK Not To Be OK, depicts the hollow feeling of insignificance amongst your friends and peers, composing their allusions to anxiety and depression in a way which resonates with teenage struggles and adult issues alike;
“Feeling like a drop in the ocean… Feeling like you’re trapped in your own skin and now your body’s frozen.”
This track beautifully counteracts its illustrations of feeling lost and in a different place to those around you by devoting its chorus to a positive message of being peaceful, patient and accepting of your own unique journey;
“Don’t get lost in the moment or give up when you’re closest, all you need is somebody to say it’s okay not to be okay.”
7. Logic ft. Will Smith – Don’t Be Afraid To Be Different
Logic & Will Smith’s quirky 2019 hip-hop collab, Don’t Be Afraid To Be Different, is crafted with an array of crazed electronic elements reflecting their dynamic theme of standing out from the crowd and being truly innovative in the way you live your life.
Cycling around the titling phrase, “Don’t be afraid to be different,” Logic & Smith’s verses dissect the importance of being unique and unmatchable in order to gain deserved respect, fame and fortune;
“Everybody following the trends I set, 60 million sold, doing it different, and my IG popping from doing it different, bad vibrations, I stay distant … Back in high school, I was not the man, now wherever I go they know who I am.”