MTV recently announced the nominations for the 2020 Video Music Awards. It featured a couple familiar faces leading the charge along with some of the newbies in the industry. Now, with the global coronavirus pandemic in full swing, the VMA’s have accounted for all creative products – including the ones crafted from home. And so, they’ve introduced two new categories this year: best music videos from home and best quarantine performance.
Speaking of the former, it’s been quite a thrill to watch artists simply use whatever available resources and create something from scratch. From dabbling with green screens to montages to footage sent in from fans – musicians have truly let those creative juices flow. And so, we’ve picked out some of the most wonderful music videos made from home. Take a look…
‘Stuck With U’ – Ariana Grande & Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande paired up to create a simply heartwarming music video for their track, ‘Stuck With U‘.
A little before the release, Bieber took to Instagram to send a little request to fans. “Help us make the #StuckwithU video,” he wrote. “I want to see you guys having fun in quarantine. This is the prom song for everyone who can’t go to prom now.”
Fans from all over the globe then proceeded to send in footage of themselves dancing with lovers, friends, dogs and babies. Sprinkled between people dancing in tracksuits and pyjamas were couples in gowns and we’re talking Disney princess-level outfits. Justin also made an appearance, taking long scenic walks with his arm wrapped around his wife, Hailey. And Ariana cuddled one of her dogs close while delivering each cozy verse.
Also, the cherry on this wonderful cake was the fact that all net proceeds from streams and sales of ‘Stuck with U’ were donated to First Responders Children’s Foundation to fund grants and scholarships for children of healthcare workers, paramedics, police officers and more serving on the front lines during the global pandemic.
‘Wildflower’ – 5 Seconds of Summer
Settling high on the list of innovative music videos was 5 Seconds of Summer’s ‘Wildflower’. The sunny, sultry number found a warm spot on the Australian band’s latest album, ‘CALM’. The boys recruited the director, Andy DeLuca, and he broke down the filming process of this video:
“Everyone filmed their parts at home with an iPhone and later sent the footage over to me. We quickly learned animation and drew up several blooming flowers, and also created the trippy colored backgrounds using milk and food dye. I then spent the next couple of days/nights editing nonstop until my eyes bled and the video was completed. It definitely has pushed us to create something we normally wouldn’t, using only our brains and our hands.”
Interestingly enough, the boys even passed a green screen from home to home, for the shoot. And so, that’s how the psychedelic, vibrant hue-d music video for ‘Wildflower’ was born.
Level of Concern – Twenty One Pilots
Twenty One Pilots did the unthinkable with their track, ‘Level of Concern’ – for starters they transformed the idea of this dreaded quarantine into something so very romantic. Oh and they also came out with not one but four different music videos for the track. As the kids say, perhaps they were being a tad bit “extra”, but then again, who doesn’t love binge-worthy content?
But we’ll steer away from that rabbit hole for now and focus on their very first visual for the track. The music video sees the duo, Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun, performing their bits individually. These clips are interspersed with ones of them loading the audio and video onto a USB, before shoving it into an envelope and into their respective post boxes.
We then witness Tyler Joseph joined by his wife, Jenna Black, and daughter, as they help with the shoot. Dun, for his part, is joined by actor Debby Ryan, who helps him breath a little life into his studio by sticking glow-in-the-dark stars on the walls. The simple yet tasteful video chugs on until the climax brings forth a ridiculous plot twist.
For those of you who haven’t seen the video yet, don’t worry, we won’t be giving away any spoilers here. So, for the love of god, watch on.
‘Bigger Love’ – John Legend
John Legend arrived on the scene with his heartwarming track ‘Bigger Love’, which was simply a celebration of hope and perseverance. Taking a page from Justin and Ariana’s book, this music video primarily featured fan-footage. Between loving texts and memes in all different languages, to footage of people embracing and dancing – this video served as a spark of joy during these difficult times.
As Legend himself articulated, “This video was made to celebrate our shared love, hope and resilience. We’re all using technology to stay in touch and finding creative ways to cope and we wanted the video to be a big musical hug for people around the world who are finding ways to stay connected to family, help their neighbors and make time for a needed dance break despite the crazy circumstances we find ourselves in.”
He then concluded with this sweet statement, “I know things are very difficult and a bit scary right now and music isn’t going to solve everyone’s problems, but hopefully it can give people a bit of a lift and bring some light to these dark times.”
Featuring people from across 6 continents, the video perfectly captures those little moments of joy in all our lives.
‘Toosie Slide’ – Drake
And finally, coming to the track that reigned supreme on charts world over – ‘Toosie Slide’ by Drake. Not only did the song instantly become a mega-hit, but ‘Toosie Slide’ also managed to do some rapid rounds on Tik Tok, giving birth to a whole new dance challenge.
Now, coming to the music video, Drake turned his lavish 50,000-square foot estate into his very own dancefloor. Dressed in a camouflage hoodie, gloves and with only his eyes visible, Drake glided across his marble floors, effortlessly showing off his moves.
The young rapper also gave us a nice long glimpse at his mansion, which might we add, cost a whopping $100 million. From Drake’s stunning grand piano, to his floor-to-ceiling windows, neon lighting and fancy pool – quarantining in this fortress must be the dream. And finally, the video quite literally ended with a bang, as fireworks shot up above Drake’s mansion. The star of course, continued to dance under the sparkly sky.
And so, that’s a wrap on all the gorgeous music videos to come out of this quarantine. And these videos were simply proof that artists could still create magic even when stuck within four walls.
By: Nina Karun