Each Measure Feature: Megan Wheeler
FEATURE
Five years have passed since the release of Megan Wheeler’s debut single, Replaced. Released when Wheeler was just sixteen, Replaced signalled the arrival of an artist who possessed significant musical ability–one who had been honing her skills as a pianist since the age of five and developing her craft as a songwriter, ever a student of Taylor Swift.
Replaced eloquently captured the feeling of heartbreak and vulnerability that are often so difficult to articulate, but found the young artist wrestling with insecurity, wondering what she might have done to cause her significant other to leave for another girl. However, the experience behind Replaced–as well as the events of the subsequent years–proved to be pivotal, resulting in her growth as a human being and her development as an artist.
After high school, Wheeler attended Belmont University in Nashville, an experience which, Wheeler says, “helped me to become independent, build beautiful friendships, and create a sense of identity. That time also showed me what I did and didn’t need to help me thrive.”
This maturation can be heard from the very opening lines of Now That I’m Gone, Wheeler’s brand new single. 2020’s Replaced ends with the lyric “How has it ended up like this? / Is there something I’ve done wrong?” Fast forward to 2025 and Wheeler is no longer asking such questions. Over pulsating bass and a triumphant synth, she sings, “Now, when I walk out your door / Can’t be bothered no more / I stopped listening to your bulls— excuses ten minutes ago.”
These lines immediately bring to mind Wheeler’s assertion that the years between releases taught her what she needs and doesn’t need to thrive as an artist and a person. This trait is a skill, and that skill is on display across Now That I’m Gone’s three-and-a-half minutes. “I don’t need you all over me” she asserts in response to her ex’s lame attempts to rekindle the relationship. He crossed a line, and Megan knows she’s too good for him anyway.
“I’m not the same girl you left behind,” she sings, perhaps nodding to a pattern of mistreatment and return. But Megan has grown. This growth does not mean she is impervious to pain, however. She goes on to admit, “Yeah I’m hurt, but I know my worth.” This, I feel, is the defining line in the song, a shining example of Megan’s growth as an artist and a person. The immature person will do anything to make the pain stop, even if that means returning to a person or scenario that is no good for them. But here Megan resists that temptation, insisting that her sense of self-worth prohibits her from seeking validation from someone who doesn’t deserve her.
Now That I’m Gone is a luxurious club anthem. Wheeler dances along these glistening textures–as if across a dance floor in a world of her own–exhilarated and free from the weight of others’ expectations, ready to take on the world.
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