If you’ve ever walked into a GTBank hall or used one of their ATM’s, then I can guaranty that you’ve heard portions of the song “The Place to Be”. It’s a soothing but addictive tune that welcomes you into the bank’s premises everywhere around the country. The song’s words and melodies have become almost as closely tied to the bank’s brand and identity as the color orange.
Listen to “The Place to Be” below:
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I believe that I can be, only the best in whatever I do
Guaranteed to take the lead, only the best in whatever I do
Guaranteed, yes indeed, to be the best in whatever I do
Wouldn’t you take my hand and let me lead?
Wouldn’t you rather trust me?
But the voice of GTB’s ubiquitous theme song wants the world to know that her relationship with the bank is no longer at the place it used to be. Asa has distanced herself from the song and, by extension, the organization that uses. Taking to Twitter today, the soul singer washed her hands off “The Place to Be” in the strongest possible terms.
“The Place to Be” was first released in 2009 but was never included in any of the singer’s official projects, and has been used by the commercial bank pretty much ever since. Following Asa’s outburst, it would therefore be interesting to see if there is any change in GTB’s use of the song for branding purposes.
Asa didn’t offer any additional information as to her reason for the outburst but you do get the sense that there has to be a significant issue bubbling underneath for the normally reticent singer to chastise an entire organization so publicly and using such strong language.