There are a smattering of things that Madison Beer has on her musical to-do list, but frontin’ and asking cast boys to go topless aren’t on it.
The rising starlet released her video for “Say It To My Face” last week on MTV, fanning her musical prowess amidst a collection of shirtless dudes in a jungle gym of positions. The takeaway is simple; if you have something to say, you can do it looking her dead in her hazel eyes or not at all. It’s an anti-shit-talking anthem.
“I co-directed this video with Luke Gilford and it was shot over a day at a home in the Hollywood Hills,” Beer tells Vanyaland. “I wanted the video narrative to not be about something or someone specific, and more of an abstract statement to empower women to demand honesty and take control. Luckily, when it came time to cast the guys I had a friend of mine help me. I let her be the one to ask, ‘Can you take off your shirt?’ For many of the guys in the video it was their first time acting and they did great.”
Aglow in neon and breathy pop beats, Beer says Fiona Apple’s iconic video for “Criminal” helped her decide on the artistic angle for the video. The similarities abound: Dewy eyes, men strewn across the carpet, confessions on white bedsheets, and tube TVs all link the two videos together.
“I enjoy the ’90s and early-2000s videos from some of my favorite artists like Alicia Keys and Lauryn Hill,” Beer adds. “I really was inspired by Fiona Apple’s video for ‘Criminal’ when deciding on the creative for this video. I also pulled some influence from ‘Basic Instinct.’”
Beer, only 18 years old, rose to popularity when Justin Bieber found and shared her cover of the Etta James tune “At Last” on Twitter, and later signed her to Island Records. Since then, she’s been on a pop-r&b grind, even missing last night’s American Music Awards to wrap up her forthcoming EP in New York.
From the sound of “Say It To My Face” and recent single “Dead”, it appears we’re in for a funky, minimalistic pop treat.
Peep the video for “Say It To My Face” below.