Why Krewella’s Billboard Op-Ed Missed The Mark

Posted by on December 8, 2014

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Every blog is talking about it. Earlier today, Jahan of Krewella released an exclusive Op-Ed via Billboard (with an insanely manipulative click-bait title) that addressed the recent lawsuit and breakup of EDM’s crossover supergroup. There real story here isn’t even the personally penned piece. It’s how Jake Udell continues to gain this kind of traction online for his clients, but I digress.

In the beginning of the Op-Ed, Jahan describes Krewella as “the most hated group in the electronic dance music scene” which isn’t far from the truth at the moment. It’s a shame considering their meteoric rise. However, it’s a lesson everyone should understand: perception is reality in the dance space. While the jury is still out on whether the sisters are responsible for pushing Kris out or not (we’re not making any claims either way) they have an image problem and it seems evident Krewella knows this. That’s why they posted this carefully calculated (tone-def) op-ed on Billboard today to quell some of the backlash.

Don’t get me wrong. The comments were abhorrent. There’s no place for this kind of mysigony in civil society. It’s 2014, and we’ve got to do better as a society. The girls have accomplished much and should be given their due. What bothered me was that the article seemed disingenuous. It read like a hysterical attempt to real re-frame the real issue at hand. It’s a perception problem. Not a sexism problem, which was a complete non-sequitur. In a predictable turn of events, Deadmau5 summed up how many in the dance space felt about the piece, largely at Krewella’s urging.

While many Krewella super-fans (and white knights) were quick to defend her message, it read tone-def and seemed to lack a much needed sense of awareness. Jahan wants to have it both ways. In one respect, she demands to be taken seriously and not looked at as a sex object. In another, she names her album “Get Wet” and profits on her inherent sexuality to catapult herself into stardom. This is having your cake and eating it too, and many blogs have failed to call her on the hypocrisy. It’s an irrational appeal to emotion, not common sense, which fans are quick to blindly share and retweet.

How then can Krewella bounce back? The answer is simple: drop a hit song. Every single blog, critic, hater, and troll will fall back when they release an undeniable smash. Songs like “Say Goodbye“, which received overwhelmingly bad reviews, aren’t going to get the job done.

Many in the space saw Jahan of Krewella’s op-ed as playing the victim card. I’d argue that’s because it was the only one she had to play at the moment. It read as a desperate attempt to re-frame the real issue at hand, because it was.

I think they’re better than this, and so should you.

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