Troop is an R&B group from Pasadena, California. Troop has had four number … Read Full Bio ↴Troop is an R&B group from Pasadena, California. Troop has had four number one singles and ten top ten singles on the Billboard R&B Charts. They have also completed five albums, which include three certified gold and one certified platinum album.

The group began in the late '80s after they won a televised talent contest that later drew interest from record labels. Troop, consisting of childhood friends Steve Russell, Allen McNeil, John Harreld, Rodney Benford, and Reggie Warren, signed to Atlantic Records and released their debut single Mamacita from their self titled album in 1988. "Mamacita" reached #2 on the Billboard's R&B Charts.

After the release of their debut album, Troop released Attitude, which included songs such as Spread My Wings and All I Do is Think of You (a Jackson 5 cover), which were both #1 on the Billboard R&B charts and remained in the top 10 on the charts for several weeks. Attitude was certified platinum in 1990, afterward, Troop released their third album Deepa in 1992 from which the single Sweet November made #1 on the Billboard's R&B charts. The group followed up with two more albums A Lil' Sumpin' Sumpin' (1994) and Mayday (1998), both of which were re-released in 2005.

After releasing "Mayday" in 1998, Troop took a hiatus as individual members worked behind the scenes on various writing and producing projects, collaborations, and other business endeavors.

In 2004, Troop returned and began touring the United States and finishing up their sixth album. Since returning, Troop has headlined a number of shows and also shared the stage with artists they toured with in the past such as Boyz II Men, Brian McKnight, Keith Sweat, Silk, Mario, and Jon B..

Troop has also been showcased on The Late Show with David Letterman, Soul Train, The Arsenio Hall Show, Showtime at the Apollo, and appeared in the feature film New Jack City singing a cappella. Additionally, the group appeared on the New Jack City soundtrack with Queen Latifah and Levert, in a medley featuring cover versions of The O'Jays' For the Love of Money and Stevie Wonder's Living For The City.

In October 2006, Troop contacted the Internet Radio Station (The Mixx) and have worked together to make The Mixx the radio home of Troop. Steve Russell dubs the singing voices of several minor characters (among them doo-wop singer Little Albert and the five brothers who make up the Jackson 5 pastiche "The Campbell Connection") in the 2006 film version of the Broadway musical Dreamgirls.

Strange Hotel
Troop Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

A freak of nature
Stuck in reality
I don't fit the picture
I'm not what you want me to be
Sorry

Under the radar
Out of the system

Caught in the spotlight
That's my existence

You want me to change
But all I feel is strange
Strange
In your perfect world
So strange
Strange
I feel so absurd in this life
Don't come closer
In my arms
Forever you'll be strange
Strange

You want to fix me
Push me
Into your fantasy
You try to give me
Sell me
A new personality

You try to lift me
I don't get better
What's making you happy
Is making me sadder

In your golden cage
All I feel is strange
Strange
In your perfect world
So strange

Strange
I feel so absurd in this life

Don't come closer
In my arms
Forever you'll be strange
Strange like me

(Strange)
When you touch me
(Strange)
When you kill me
(Strange)
All I feel is strange
(Strange)

In my dreams
Together we'll be
Strange

Strange
Strange
In your perfect world

Strange
(I am so strange)
Strange
(I am so afraid)
Strange
Strange
In your perfect world
So strange
Strange
I feel so absurd in this life

Don't come closer
You'll die slowly
In my arms
Forever you'll be

Strange
Strange like me

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Troop’s “Strange Hotel” discuss the feeling of being an outsider in a society where the expectations and norms do not align with one’s true self. The persona portrayed in the song seems to feel like a “freak of nature” who is forced to conform to a world that they do not fit in. The lyrics talk about the pressure to change and be someone else, someone more like the others, and the conflict between living up to society’s standards and being true to oneself. The phrase “In your perfect world, so strange” seems to be the main message of the song, conveying the idea that the world that seems to be perfect is strange and confusing to the persona.

The song is a representation of the existential battle between the self and the society that we all face from time to time. It captures the feeling of being trapped in the systems created by society, trying to fit in and be “normal” while feeling like a misfit. The lyrics delve into the struggle of accepting one’s uniqueness and embracing it regardless of how people perceive it. The song is a reminder that it is okay to be different and that trying to fit in just to belong is a futile effort.

Line by Line Meaning

A freak of nature
I am different from others in a way that cannot be explained

Stuck in reality
I cannot escape the limitations of the real world

I don't fit the picture
I do not conform to your expectations or ideals

I'm not what you want me to be
You have set an ideal that I cannot meet

Sorry
I apologize for not being what you want me to be, but I cannot change who I am

Under the radar
I am not getting attention or recognition

Out of the system
I am not part of the established order

Caught in the spotlight
I am in the public eye, but not for reasons I choose

That's my existence
This is the reality of my life

You want me to change
You are pressuring me to be something I am not

But all I feel is strange
I feel uncomfortable and out of place

In your perfect world
In the world you have constructed where everything and everyone conforms to your expectations

So strange
I feel even more disconnected and out of place

I feel so absurd in this life
I feel ridiculous and illogical in the life I have been given

Don't come closer
Stay away from me, because you won't understand or accept me

In my arms
If you do come to me, you will be with someone who is strange and different, and that is not a normal or comfortable place to be

Forever you'll be strange
Once you are with me, you will always be different, because you are with me

You want to fix me
You believe that I need to be changed to fit into a certain mold

Push me
You apply pressure to get me to conform

Into your fantasy
You have an idealized version of what I should be

You try to give me
You offer me things to make me conform

Sell me
You try to persuade me to change by offering me what you believe is a better life

A new personality
You want me to change who I am in a fundamental way

You try to lift me
You offer me support to help me conform

I don't get better
I do not conform despite your efforts

What's making you happy
What brings you joy and fulfillment

Is making me sadder
Is causing me distress and pain

In your golden cage
In the life you've constructed, where everything is perfect but stagnant

All I feel is strange
I feel even more out of place in this idealized world

When you touch me
When you try to connect with me

When you kill me
When you try to change or eradicate who I am

In my dreams
In the world of my imagination, where I can be free to be myself without judgment

Together we'll be
We can find acceptance and understanding in this alternate reality

I am so strange
I am different and that's okay

I am so afraid
I fear rejection and judgment for being different

You'll die slowly
If you get too close to me and my strange world, it will suffocate and kill you

Strange like me
You will become strange and different like me if you enter my world

Writer(s): Bill Kaulitz, Patrick Benzner, Dave Roth, Tom Kaulitz, David Jost Copyright: Jost Music Publishing David Jost, Benzner Publishing, Emma S Park Music David Roth

Contributed by Jacob M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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