Canadian-born and London-based, Tiny is back with N.Y.B. (Not Your Barbie), a track that takes on anyone who tries to tell you how to be or treats you like an object. They started writing the song in February, after waking up in the middle of the night with the chorus in their head, but didn’t return to it until the summer. Tired of being treated like an accessory in their relationships, they’ve responded with a declaration of independence.
And they don’t hold back. The song kicks off with a defiant shout, followed by a hefty guitar riff and almost industrial-sounding drums. Then it plays with contrast: the verses ease off, with a funky bassline and playful vocals, before the choruses explode with distorted guitars and Tiny switching between softer passages and raw, ragged screams. Those shifts bring Skunk Anansie to mind, while the hard rock edge, guitar solo included, recalls The Pretty Reckless.
I’ve been told more times than I care to think that I’m too much – I’m not a doll that can be manipulated to your pleasure. The more I lean into everything that I am, the more I find myself. Screaming “Not Your Barbie” is my protest to all these things people try to force me to be (Tiny).
In the lyrics, Barbie stands for that image of the perfect, pretty, obedient woman, which Tiny rejects outright. They refuse to be controlled or to keep pretending to have feelings for someone who never treated them as an equal. That screamed “Not Your Barbie” makes it clear they have no intention of changing to fit anyone else’s mould.
Tiny isn’t going to sit quietly on a shelf, tucked away in a little box, while someone else decides who they should be. Anyone expecting a Barbie with a perfect smile has come face to face with a force of nature. And there’s no putting Tiny back in the box.
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