My Chosen Song

I have chosen to use the song 'My My My!' by Troye Sivan for my music video. Sivan is a South-African singer/songwriter and was named one of the top influential teens in 2014. Although I am only using his song, knowing more about him can help shape my video through Sivan's views and what he represents.

Sivan is openly gay after releasing a video 'coming out' on YouTube in 2013. It was after this that many of Sivan's music videos follow homosexual relationships as well as usually supporting the LGBT+ community. For example, his music video for 'Heaven ft. Betty Who' features footage of historical LGBT+ movements and couples in celebration of the community.

Literature research

I did some more research into the artist because I wanted to hone in on his intentions and other opinions. I received an ASOS magazine through the post whilst writing this post which was very coincidental as the magazine included an article about Sivan.

Sivan is wearing pastel colours which may influence costume decisions for my music video.

There was a lot written about Sivan within the article and I highlighted the most relevant to the concept behind both his song and music video.

For instance, Sivan states in the interview how he was only 15 when he 'came out' to his family, yet told the rest of the world at 18, during a YouTube video. This shows great bravery that at such a young age he began to feel more comfortable with who he is, so I may try and portray a sense of bravery and rebellion within my music video as Sivan would promote this.

Sivan later says how he takes it (LGBT+) 'really seriously' so I do not want my video to be too informal yet result in a hard-hitting message at the end. I think it would be good for the video to be light-hearted throughout so that the audience feel more at ease in immersed in the video, before being hit by a tone which is more serious and people realise that actually, being gay is not 'a phase' yet is something which should be taken more seriously as well as more represented in the media.

One of the phrases that the article uses is how Sivan is 'unapologetically confident' which I like in the way it is put because it is suggesting how for so long, gay people have felt ashamed in themselves yet now as a society we are waking up in realisation. I hope that my video will be 'unapologetic' in that it will stand up for itself amid hate that it could receive from critics, if it were an official video.

'I think another thing is being a little bit stubborn in your pride and in your joy. It makes me want to sing louder, love harder, be happier. I hope the record makes people want to fall in love'; Sivan suggests how the song could encourage people to love whoever they want as well as stand up for what is right. 

'Pride is a symbol of such resilience...To put on the most loud, public display possible, in the streets, with music, glitter and Speedos'

'To take things that have been shrouded in shame for so long, like affection and flamboyance, things that we were all told to keep private and curb as much as you possibly could. To put those on the most loud, public display possible, in the streets, with music and glitter, to fly in the face of all of that criticism and censorship, is a valuable way to reset boundaries'.

The song I have chosen by Sivan, 'My My My!' was released on 10th January 2018, which is beneficial because it is still fairly new. When I am writing this post in May, the song remains on the Spotify playlist, 'Hot Hits', a playlist with other popular songs. I asked 10 friends aged 17 whether they had heard of/heard the song 'My My My!', and my result entailed that 6 people had heard the song, with 4 people having not heard the song. This is a good balance because that means the song may not be known to some people watching the video meaning the whole concept is new to them. Also, the fact that the song isn't too popular means that it won't have been overplayed. This is because I feel that if I used an overplayed song, the video may become less interesting because an audience may be tired of the song.

'My My My!' is a song of 'liberation, freedom and love', which is exactly what I want to promote in my music video so the song seems very fitting. In a press release, Sivan expressed how his video is about 'throw all inhibition to the wind, being present in your body, loving wholeheartedly, moving the way you've always wanted to, and dancing the way you feel' which is also expresses the strong relation to the LGBT+ community and being comfortable in your own skin. 

However, it is not simply just aimed at the LGBT+ community - the song can provide the motivation for anyone, as the main crux of the song tells you to love whoever, be in tune with yourself and being yourself against the pressures of society and what it tells you. 

Also, as I mentioned in a previous post, I wanted my song to be pop however with other influences. I think 'My My My!' is pop however has a dance/techno/electronic/house influence which I really like because it makes the song more modern.

I also gathered thoughts from my peers in my year to find out what they thought of the song as well as, from simply listening to it, they would imagine the music video to look like:

'I like how the song has electronic influences and when I listened to the song I could imagine the video being heavily filmed in a studio with funky lighting' - Kitty Jones, 16

'I really like the modern influence when the beat drops because it includes house elements that make me want to dance. It is also like how the song is still quite calm but builds towards the chorus, so I would expect the music video to start slow but build tension' - Charlotte Lane, 17

'The beat is really nice and makes the song very modern. The song is also very catchy because of the simple lyrics in the chorus which make the song such a statement' - Dylan Lawrence, 17


Lyrics

I decided to explore the lyrics of the song because it can be very clever when the lyrics compliment the visuals and concept of a music video. I found a lot of references to what I am trying to convey in my video, mostly along the lines of not caring about what others think of you.

A short video showing the process of how I explored the song and it's meaning:



Here are a few lyrical examples within the song that I have chosen to explore in more depth:

'Let's stop running from love' - A gay relationship can be permitted in private yet many couples find it hard to express themselves fully in public (such as holding hands). This line could suggest how Sivan has a desire to be himself with another man in public yet wishes it was easier and more accepted by people. However we see from this line that he is willing to banish his fear of being together in public for the sake of their relationship blossoming. In my opinion nobody should be ashamed or even put down by others for expressing their love for somebody.


'I die every night with you' - In my opinion, this line is one of the most effective because it can be interpreted in different ways. However when you look at it from a particular point of view it can feel very sad and as a listener we may feel bad for Sivan. Firstly, the line could be interpreted that Sivan loves spending time with his partner and the word 'die' is as if their time together is always so good that Sivan feels he is 'on top of the world'. Dying can be associated as a good thing because he could be feeling like he is in heaven. On the other hand, however, the line could suggest that when they spend time together it is bitter-sweet because he loves his partner so much yet there is a darkness in that he still feels so much guilt for being in love with a man.


'Should be the last night ever' - This line could also be interpreted in different ways. Firstly, it could suggest that the couple could now be more confident in going out into public with each other, stating that this is the last time they will not be scared to show public affection. However it could be perceived that 'should' in this line represents how in society, homosexual couples should hopefully be fine with going out, yet actual couples still don't feel confident enough, even though society may assure them of their acceptance.


'Oh my my my' - A tone of surprise is created with the title of the song which is also repeated within each chorus. This is vague so could carry many connotations. Firstly, it could highlight the feeling of Sivan being overwhelmed. Being homosexual can be very overwhelming because of the many emotions you may face. For example, you may be judged more than the usual person when walking down the street, because you may look different or act a certain way.
According to the dictionary the phrase could also suggest that you are impressed. In this case it could mean that Sivan is impressed with his partners bravery and willing to be himself just so they can stand up for themselves and have a healthy relationship.
'My My My' can also be used to tease someone so maybe Sivan's flirtatious side is shown here.

Below is a video in which Sivan explain his own interpretation on the song from the writer's perspective. This is important to note as it is fine for me to explain my own opinion of the song yet it would be effective to include an authentic representation of what the artist intended for the video to feel like.



For example, at 0.10 Sivan explains how the song was initially inspired by a beat he heard which was unique. The fact that this whole idea was ignited simply from the beat suggests how significant the rhythm is, suggesting the visuals should work around the beat, especially when editing. Also, specifically for a pop music video it is important for it to usually be quite fast paced to keep in time with the music.

40 seconds into the video, Sivan describes the main idea of the song; 'being into someone but maybe you're meeting them at the wrong time and you're both denying the fact that your into it'. This is along the same lines as I had interpreted it as, so it's a good sign that that lyrically the concept is clear and easy to pick up for the audience. I was worried that lyrically, the song was too vague in that it didn't clearly mention being in a homosexual relationship, but I think that along with the visuals it will be more clear. Also I think that perhaps a subtle meaning behind the lyrics can be more effective as clearer lyrics makes it easier for an audience. However, with the lyrics being quite vague I feel that as an audience member I would become more intrigued and invested in what the video was about.

In terms of lyrics, most of my assumptions about what the words meant were along the same lines as Sivan expresses. For instance, within the line, 'Lets stop running from us', I thought it meant that a couple longed to be together yet were scared at the same time. Sivan reassures this at 1.29, stating, 'I think love is a very scary thing, especially if you're not sure if the other person loves you back', 'so as exciting as it is there's a lot of vulnerability in it'. This is ultimately what I imagined the line to mean, as we have that juxtaposition between being frightened yet then full of desire.

Sivan mentions in the video how a particular line is about emotional 'electricity' which I feel is appropriate for the song as a whole and sums up the video. This has almost lead me in the direction to make the video quite tense to make the audience feel alert and vulnerable.

Here is the official video for the song, in which I have gathered a lot of inspiration. Firstly, I like the shift between black and white visuals to them being in colour. I also like the coloured lighting used because it looks modern and fun. However I wish for my own music video to have more of a storyline as Sivan's video is more of a montage style, with various shots of him posing.



In conclusion, I think I have chosen a good song because it is very catchy meaning people may remember the music video because of remembering the song or vice versa. It also relates to the storyline and visuals that my music video will be, as I aim to film at London Pride Festival in the summer.

As well as this, the song is fairly new and hasn't been overplayed on the radio as much as other songs in the charts so will hopefully be refreshing to hear. Finally, it has a good beat that can work parallel to my editing style as well as some very metaphorical lyrics that can relate to a lot of different people which is what I hope to achieve.

Exploring the lyrics helped me understand the song in much more depth, as well as researching what Sivan intended the song to symbolise. I felt that making the video showing how I annotated the lyrics displayed my thought process, as I found it really easy to annotate. This is good because it means the message of the song is prominent and easy to understand.

The most challenging part of this post was the actual choosing of the song because there were so many. I spent hours searching for different songs which was tiring however I eventually came back and re-discovered this song that I had previously written about. When listening to the song I could easily envisage the video which I thought was a good sign, so I chose to take the song forward.