In this week’s top music video picks, we take a journey through a utopian North Korea, a mannequin’s life, and the long way home. From hip-hop to electronic and indie rock, featuring artists like G FrSH and Cloud Control, see which music videos are becoming viral.
The Lonely Island: “Go Kindergarten”
The Lonely Island takes the directive “throw your hands in the air” to the next level. Robyn, the Swedish dance-pop queen, joins forces with the SNL comedians on stage for a song that pokes fun at tracks that command listeners to do everything they say—from getting ladies to "shake" their "asses" to giving birth to a baby on the dance floor. P. Diddy and Paul Rudd (Anchorman) cameo as some of the mindless clubbing drones.
Cloud Control: “Dojo Rising”
Sad clowns, demonic children… this music video has it all. Everything seems to have an international element in “Dojo Rising”—from the Australian band Cloud Control providing the soft indie-rock crooning to the beautiful video being shot on location in Bolivia with a bizarre narrative that’s worth watching to the end.
Gabrielle Aplin: “Home”
It’s never quite clear why 20-year-old British singer Gabrielle Aplin is alone and penniless in the emotive music video for “Home,” but it does paint a picture of having nowhere to go. The young YouTube star portrays what seems to be a runaway who travels cross-country from motel to sprawling desert roads, getting mugged and having to hitchhike along the way.
Grouplove: “Ways To Go”
What if North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was into peace, love, and understanding? In Grouplove’s first single off of their sophomore album, Spreading Rumors, the Los Angeles-based indie outfit performs in a mansion—which also serves as the home of what can be assumed is the child version of the leader. The jovial kid prefers his Hawaiian shirt to his olive-colored military uniform, and inspires happiness among his staff with his b-boy dance moves. Also worth mentioning is that lead singer Christian Zucconi looks like he just stepped out of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” music video as Kurt Cobain.
A-Trak (featuring Galantis): "Jumbo"
How about a game of one-on-one? In A-Trak’s latest creative effort for the track “Jumbo,” he shoots some hoops with his clones—and he’s not bad! For the half-time show, a cheerleader and her doppelgängers perform some hypnotic, pom-pom routines (see 1:11). The electro DJ and Fool’s Gold record label founder has been on a roll with his cheeky and offbeat music videos, especially his last offering for “Tuna Melt,” which made the impossible seem possible with intricate, falling dominoes.
Stromae: “Papaoutai”
Stromae’s (a.k.a. Paul Van Haver) unique clip for “Papaoutai” might just be the revival for the next Mannequin film. The Belgian hip-hop and electronic artist is frozen as a waxy, doll in a plastic, 1950s backdrop, and his son desperately tries to bring him to life through the spirit of dance.
Austin Mahone: “What About Love”
Move over, Justin Bieber. There’s a new teen heartthrob in town: Austin Mahone. In this Colin Tilley-directed music video, Mahone—the YouTube-sensation-turned-celebrity—shows off his dance moves with some colorful edits along the way. He is currently on tour with Taylor Swift as her opening act.
G FrSH: “Never Can I”
Things aren’t quite as they seem in G FrSH’s music video for “Never Can I.” In a series of high-fashion photo-shoot looks, the U.K. emcee moves in unpredictable ways in this edit-heavy video that changes the pacing from slow-motion shots to quick glitches. It’s worth sticking to the end for a bizarre conversation he has with his fox fur shawl…
