By Emma Cummins

Editorial Page Editor

For many, the reviews and critiques of songs, movies and TV shows seem to be produced all the time. He or she may assume that they take a minute to write, and another minute to post.

But for Coppell High School senior Reyaan Shah, a review is much more than that.

So much more that Shah took it upon himself to create and publish a website with the help of Mallorie Munoz, The Sidekick’s managing editor.

“My role came with the writing and opinions,” Munoz said. “It gives me the opportunity to write for pleasure instead of professional writing.”

The site, Popchata.com, is filled with music reviews, entertainment news, personal playlists and the like.

“Reviews have kind of been my ‘thing’ since I was really young,” Shah said.  “I would always be reading reviews for games, movies, whatever it might have been.”

The website also holds an opportunity for Shah to experience something other than his normal pursuits in math and science.

“I’ve made blogs for ninth grade biology, but this is my first official thing that I’ve undertaken with my own volition,” Shah said. “I’ve spent a lot of years not doing anything, just math and all that kind of stuff.”

Shah now has an outlet to express what he has loved doing since he was 12. Last  summer, Shah found himself spending, at times, two days writing reviews on Amazon.

“I thought maybe if I create my own medium it would be mine,” Shah said.

Shah’s mother, Radhi Shah, was surprised when she found out about the website.

“For him to take it from an idea, finish and actually make it live, was amazing,” Mrs. Shah said. “I was very surprised by the amount of energy and interest he had put into it.”

However, Mrs. Shah did not find it to be completely surprising since Shah had been exposed to music his whole life.

“Our tastes were much older like Pink Floyd, rock music and psychedelic rock,” Mrs. Shah said. “The love of it started with us, but the extent of knowledge he accumulated was all him.”

The website has a professional appearance and the casual observer might not expect the website to be made by teenagers.

For CHS junior Rutuja Joshi, the best part of the website is its variety.

“The opinions section means that you’re getting reviews from all sorts of people who listen to different genres,” Joshi said. “This gives me an insight into other genres since my friends usually listen to the same music that I do.”

Shah hopes the website will grow into a collaborative website, with other writers contributing their thoughts about music, movies and any type of media.

“The goal is to create something that feels real, real enough to me,” Shah said.