If your TikTok For-You-Page is anything like mine, the past few months have been flooded with small sound bites of a song from rising new artist, Maddie Zahm. The song,”Fat Funny Friend,” is a peek into Zahm’s personal feelings regarding her body before, throughout, and after a major weight loss. Scrolling through Zahm’s TikTok account, I was confronted with an abundance of duet-ed reaction videos where she watched and reacted to others’ videos paired with the audio of “Fat Funny Friend.” Through watching these snippets of Zahm, it is obvious just how genuine and raw of a person she is. She also mentions her own hesitation in releasing the song, thinking it might’ve been too personal and people would judge her for representing the plus-size community after her weight loss.
I’d like to think I speak for many girls who grew up similarly in saying that I could not be more thankful Zahm released the song. Personally, I never knew other people felt this way. When listening to any song about anything, I love learning the lyrics and seeing how they relate to me, but with “Fat Funny Friend,” it felt like I didn’t have to learn them, it felt like they came from my feelings. The song makes me feel like I’m not alone in the feelings that I used to allow to isolate me.
Her lyrics, “I’ve drawn out in Sharpie where I’d take the scissors / If that’s what it took for me to look in the mirror”, show just how vulnerable she was in writing her song. Her lyrics, even beyond the two lines mentioned, are strong, specific, personal, and yet perfectly relatable. “Fat Funny Friend” is written by Zahm, but it feels as though she kept in mind any other girl who has struggled with body image. Zahm gracefully balances her rawness and authenticity with her beautifully written lyrics that all stitch together seamlessly.
Scrolling through the song’s audio on TikTok, it is clear Zahm has a hit on her hands. “Fat Funny Friend” has become an anthem for women across the planet, a beacon for body positivity and acceptance.