On November 14th, Summer Walker released her third studio album, “Finally Over It.” With 18 songs across two discs and features from Mariah the Scientist, Doja Cat, Latto, Anderson .Paak, Bryson Tiller and more, the album serves as the final piece of Walker’s “Over It” trilogy.
Over the course of the past 6 years, Summer Walker has released three studio albums: “Over It,” “Still Over It,” and lastly, “Finally Over It.” She announced the new album in October, along with the shocking news that she would not be working with London On Da Track (real name London Tyler Holmes), who produced Walker’s first two studio albums and was the subject of her sophomore album, “Still Over It.”
Walker and Holmes’ tumultuous, on-and-off relationship began in 2019 when she was working on “Over It.” However, rumors of infidelity and a series of breakups between the two weighed heavily throughout the two years they were together.
In “Bitter,” Walker addresses the cheating rumors. “Just because y’all got a past, that don’t mean you got a future (Better stop playin’ with me) / This mine for life (For life) no switchin’ sides (Switchin’ sides) / We ride or die and that’s why I know you / Bitter…”
Furthermore, in “Broken Promises,” she continues to differentiate herself from her partner’s other relationships. “I would never take they words ‘gainst yours… You never left me like you did them…” However, toward the end of the song, she addresses the other women one last time: “But I should’ve listened.”
Summer Walker’s growth throughout the three albums is shown here. In “Still Over It,” she teeters back and forth between leaning into the rumors and staying loyal to her relationship with Holmes. In “Bitter,” she sings about putting blame on the other women in Holmes’s life. In “Broken Promises,” she sings: “I’ve been mistaken / You’re not the man I thought you were / and they tried to warn me.” The album follows her slowly losing trust in the man she is with.
In “Finally Over It,” she stays true to the album’s title and puts her foot down. In “No,” she sings: “You want me to lose myself just to keep your home / But the answer’s no, no, no.”
“Finally Over It” follows a consistent wedding theme. The album’s cover takes inspiration from the controversial wedding photos of Anna Nicole Smith and J. Howard Marshall in 1994. Walker even has a pacman-style game on her website where players play as her in her wedding dress from the album cover. The album is made of two halves, “For Better” and “For Worse,” named after traditional wedding vows.
Her single, “FMT,” follows the theme. The song “[e]xplores Walker’s struggle with heartbreak and her decision to give up true love for a transactional relationship, even if it’s not what she desires,” according to Genius.
Historically, Summer Walker’s past projects have always had impactful collaborations with other artists. Having collaborated with Drake, Jhené Aiko, PartyNextDoor, SZA, Ari Lennox, Pharrell Williams and more, it comes as no surprise that “Finally Over It” would be filled with strong collabs. The album has 13 other artists across 10 songs on the album, while 8 songs are with Walker alone.
Doja Cat’s verse on “Go Girl” and Bryson Tiller’s on “Give Me a Reason” are standouts on the album. Mariah the Scientist keeps up with Walker in “Robbed You.” However, the large quantity of collabs distracts from Walker’s artistry. Anderson .Paak’s verse on “1-800 Heartbreak” is fantastic but an entirely different song, Chris Brown completely overtakes Walker in “Baby,” and 21 Savage’s verse on “Get Yo Boy” just irks me.
Although she has tons of collabs on all of her main albums, she had none with the exception of Drake on her debut mixtape, “Last Day of Summer”. Walker has proven to hold an album up by herself if she wanted to, and she is far past the point in her career where she needs to rely on collabs to make a great album. Songs like “Stitch Me Up,” “Don’t Make Me Do It” and the titular track “Finally Over It” allow Walker to stand on her own talent.
Another common gripe with some longtime fans of Walker is the absence of Holmes’ production. Her first two albums had a distinct sound that he brought that is not in the new album. However, I think the album’s production is fine without Holmes, and still works well with Walker’s voice.
After six years since “Over It,” Walker is finally over it, and the album is a clear conclusion to her chapter with Holmes. Throughout the trilogy, she shifts her energy from her relationship to prioritizing herself. Her artistry develops with her shift in mentality. Even then, the album is just as strong as her first two, and her talents remain consistent throughout her career.
