Listen to Big Feels on Spotify, bbs! <3 <3
Big Feels on Stacie Orrico in 2003:
When I was 12 years old, my parents were co-principals at a little school together. They were very busy and ambitious and were often there late nights. Us kids would be there too. I remember it being cozy. I remember it being exciting. Mom would bring food that we could heat up in the microwave. Our piano teacher would come by on Tuesdays and we would each have to do our lessons, pretend that we had practiced throughout the week.
At home, we had one computer that lived in the downstairs homeschooling room. It was an upgrade from the original mac computer where we played The Oregon Trail on floppy disc, but it was a beast in its own right. It ran on dial up (cue the iconic dial up noise) and would load audio and videos 20 seconds at a time with minutes, sometimes hours, spent waiting in between.
The videos we did manage to load changed our lives. Do you remember “I Will Survive” by that alien? Incredible.
At the school in town, there were enough computers for all of us and internet that didn’t need to take a haggard breath between each activity. I would spend many hours playing Neopets or any kind of game where I could give someone a makeover.
And then there was the week I learned about Stacie Orrico—god’s gift to horny, conservative preteens—because for one brief and fleeting moment, the span of a shooting star, Stacie Orrico was a Christian artist who had an unexpected sexy shift with the song, “Stuck on You.”
What a a gift it is to have a Christian artist try to make a secular crossover. All the adults get confused. The land turns lawless. Maybe Stacie is stuck on God, is that so wrong??
I didn’t have Britney, Christina, the Spice Girls, hell, I didn’t even have Mandy (as Christian review website, Plugged In, surmised, “The singer claims, “Sex is what sells now, but I’d rather be classy and not sell as many records.” Not quite classy enough.* Some good stuff, but ‘17’ and a few racy pix will make many families think less of Moore.”).
I didn’t have these titans of pop music; but for one glorious week, I had Stacie, and she was everything, EVERYTHING.
I have to ascribe my queer awakening to my first crush, Kelly, the pastor’s daughter, but Stacie came in swinging at a pivotal, hormone-heady moment. I’ll never forget.
To close, here are some other videos that seem (vaguely) relevant and should not be forgotten (pls share your own vintage YouTube moments in the comments below!!):
Bonus Stacie Orrico song (vaguely Christian, award-winning outfit/character changes):
Talk soon,
Natahna
*emphasis my own
The recommends: Letting it all hang out (for once).
Jk. You should listen to Disco Man by Remi Wolf.