Bazzi’s beats bring music to the meme scene

“You so f***in’ precious when you smile,” was the only line Andrew Bazzi needed to begin his rise to fame with his 2017 single, “Mine.”

These now-iconic lyrics went viral in October when Snapchat released a “Be Mine” lens, which fills the user’s screen with heart-shaped eyes and floating hearts. Snapchat users quickly created a trend with this fun filter.

Bazzi’s fans noticed that the filter’s animation lines up perfectly with the beat and lyrics of “Mine.” Fans then applied the song to the filter, resulting in popular meme compilations.

After the “Be Mine” lens blew up, Bazzi continued his success with other singles like “Honest” and “Why” — this time without any memes.

Months after this media attention, Bazzi released his debut album, “Cosmic,” on April 12, featuring those singles and 13 other tracks.

“Cosmic” is as extraterrestrial as its title suggests, with deep and well-balanced songs that blend pop and contemporary R&B.

One refreshing side of the album is that Bazzi doesn’t sound like the product of a pop music formula. His ballads give off real thought and feeling. He’s not what you would expect to hear on the radio from artists such as Shawn Mendes or Liam Payne.

Pop music is always a safe genre, but his R&B twist is fresh, taking inspiration from artists like The Weeknd and Blackbear.

Influence from The Weeknd shows in Bazzi’s love serenades, while Blackbear shines through in Bazzi’s unique beats that leave me head-bobbing and singing along.

Bazzi worked on “Cosmic” for more than two years, spending enough time to make every song of his 16-track album personal and meaningful to his listeners. Fans can experience a full retrospective take on his love life and rise to fame.

Bazzi, 20, is originally from Dearborn, Michigan. He comes off as a mysterious individual, often taking to Twitter to share vulnerable thoughts and feelings about what his album means to him and where the idea came from.

Bazzi sings about typical topics popular in pop music like love, sex and drugs. But he keeps each track short, making for easy listening despite cliched themes. The intimacy Bazzi creates with the quick track times left me clicking the repeat button far more than skip.

The track “Dreams” starts off with futuristic beats and then breaks into a love narrative, like a more subtle version of an EDM bass drop.

Lyrics like “I had a dream about you last night / Your eyes were shining so bright / Those lips and that bittersweet smile” join with beat that matches the song’s title.

Other songs, like “Honest,” follow similar tones and beats but with twists on romance.

“Girl, it hurts me to do this / but I’m not looking for excuses … Always knew that you’d be ruthless / but I never thought that you could do this, oh,” he sings, drawing on feelings of betrayal and regret.

The rest of the song follows similar tones, with lyrics that sound like a therapy session.

“I was selfish in the way that I acted / I keep doing things just to get a reaction.”

Before releasing “Honest,” the singer-songwriter tweeted, “this next song i’m putting out is the realist song i’ve ever written”

With “Cosmic,” Bazzi released only three music videos — “Mine,” “Honest” and “Myself.” The visuals are all creative and colorful, showcasing a wide variety of techniques and themes.

“Honest” gives off a vintage vibe with unique video filters and visual effects, while “Mine” is more futuristic with colorful visuals in constant movement. “Mine” has significantly more views than “Honest,” having reached over 50 million.

“Myself” is his most recent video release, which takes a step away from flashy visual effects and colors. The video follows a more typical scene and story as Bazzi walks around a mansion singing to his reflection in mirrors and a swimming pool, with the occasional special appearance by his dog.

Bazzi will perform as a special guest with Camila Cabello on her sold-out “Never Be the Same” tour, which kicked off April 9 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Bazzi will also perform at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Tennessee this June and Lollapalooza in Chicago this August.

These performances are a chance for Bazzi to leave his meme reputation behind and take to the stage, giving audiences a real-life take at a passion that is clear throughout “Cosmic.”

Bazzi has given us his all, leaving it up to listeners to take his music in its best form.

Bazzi tweeted, “the reaction to COSMIC is so beautiful i could cry.”