Sheryl Crow slams Trump’s leadership in her bold new protest song “The New Normal,” drawing Orwellian parallels and warning against AI and social decline.
Sheryl Crow has unleashed a searing new protest anthem, “The New Normal,” recorded live with her touring ensemble, The Real Lowdown, and released on July 18.
In the track’s urgent verses, Crow spares no punches in condemning President Donald Trump’s leadership as “immoral” and draws chilling parallels between the current political landscape and the dystopian world of George Orwell’s 1984.
Opening with the question, “Is it science fiction or prediction wrapped in George Orwell?”, Crow critiques the blurring of truth and fear in modern public discourse. “If the news is fake and fear is hate and nothing’s immoral / To the leader of the free world, then welcome to the new normal,” she sings, directly challenging the idea that citizens should simply accept flagrant falsehoods and divisive rhetoric.
Beyond political commentary, “The New Normal” also addresses the looming specter of automation. Crow warns listeners that, “You’re gonna wake up someday to a robot that’s in your place,” reflecting widespread anxieties about artificial intelligence’s impact on jobs and society.
This interweaving of political and technological critique underscores Crow’s sense of urgency: she fears a gradual erosion of both democratic norms and economic security.
In a statement accompanying the song’s release, Crow admitted that the chaos of recent years has been “so unbelievably bizarre” that many risk becoming desensitized. “My fear is we will truly begin to feel like this is normal,” she said, describing the track as both a wake-up call and a rallying cry.
She also shared her excitement about collaborating with The Real Lowdown: years of spontaneous jamming during sound checks organically evolved into these new recordings, which she can’t wait for fans to hear.
This latest outspokenness builds on Crow’s well-documented opposition to Trump. In 2016, she joined other artists in publicly protesting the unauthorized use of their music in his campaign, and ahead of the 2024 election, she revealed she cast her vote for Kamala Harris.
On Instagram, Crow explained that she chose the candidate whose values—“empathy, compassion, a heart for community and for those underserved”—align with her own, rejecting “hate and division, bigotry, or racism.”
With “The New Normal,” Sheryl Crow once again positions herself at the forefront of artist-activists determined to challenge the status quo. The fiery anthem is now streaming across major platforms, inviting listeners to confront the unsettling realities of today rather than accept them as inevitable.
