I love music. I’m not a music major, I can’t play instruments, I don’t write lyrics, and I’m not the best singer, but I really love music. I play it all throughout my day, when I’m walking to class, doing work, eating, studying, showering, doing my makeup, cleaning, and most things in between. It’ll be too long of a list to name all my favorite songs, but I’ve never made a list of my favorite music videos. These videos are visually beautiful, tell an awesome story, or I’ve just been replaying over and over again, and I hope you do too.
Story
I don’t know how, but Grey figured out how to have the plot of a full movie perfectly play out in the length of a song. The story has romance, heartbreak, anticipation, horror, drama, and all the good sauce of Hollywood’s next hit.
You know I love a good gay story, and Clean Bandit accomplished a really good one in this story. Two girls meet at camp but their love is forbidden, then forward to the future and one is watching the other’s wedding as she marries a man. And Marina looks beautiful as well.
It’s hard for me to choose one Adore Delano video above the rest, but I’ve watched this one so many times. Adore is a drag queen, but not like anyone has seen before. Her drag look can be just some eyeliner, or just a wig. Her genderbending is accomplished perfectly by showing off her male body while being in drag, and Negative Nancy is just a great rock song.
We’ve seen this story before: rich and proper family has a rebel daughter. They send her off to fix her ways, and instead she turns the whole study body against the staff. The simple video really encompases a great meaning about being yourself and not following the rules.
I still love gay stories, and here’s another. An ex-Disney star plays the role in this video, who has a crush on her best friend, who has a boyfriend. The video has become a staple in LGBT+ music artists for its simple story, relatable content, and beautiful relationship.
Boy Epic, AKA Parker Banks, is not a well known artist, but he’s one of my favorite. His videos are often dark and sexual, but Wolf has something special. Trying to bring his love back to life with some sort of science experiment, the visuals are beautiful and the story leaves a mark on you.
This video somehow fit an entire horror movie into a music video. The visuals are beautiful, but the story itself is intense with blood, fear, fights, and a plot twist at the end.
Funny
An intense song with an intense music video. Bonnie is doing aerobics for an exercise video, but when the chorus of the song hits, she transforms into an 80s superfreak, and the reactions of the other people in the aerobics videos to her transformation are priceless.
We’ve seen this story before: rich and proper family has a rebel daughter. Elliphant is forced to her family’s reunion, but because she hates them all she decides to drug them during dinner, and the chaos that ensues is hilarious.
Give a rapper some children, and you get a funny video. Fighting with his girlfriend, playing with kittens, and overall beautiful visuals make this video addictive.
I can’t explain this video any more than just saying it’s two white rich girls living their daily comedic lives, being spoiled, crying, and eating twizzlers. Please watch this, it’s so worth it.
All Ingrid wants to do is lip sync to her song in romantic settings, like with flower petals, in a hot tub, and on a beach. But her ex-lovers keep lip syncing in front of her, and the battle between them is hilarious.
Baby, the sister in the family, wants nothing but to be alone with her boyfriend, but her hypocrite overprotective brother won’t allow it. As he chases her boyfriend out of the house time after time, you’ll see how funny this video really is.
Meaning Behind It
Bisexual legend Janelle Monáe knows how to make a bisexual music video. Her videos are always beautiful, especially the scenes with her backup dancers, but her symbolism in dancing with both a man and woman makes my heart ache.
Tove Lo wanted to make a music video with as many powerful women as she could, so she did. Bitches stars five powerful singers (and Alma’s sister) who play sex therapists, and their job is to teach a girl’s boyfriend how to give her oral sex. Yeah, you heard me right.
MØ’s video was inspired by a painting actually, called “The Dance of Life” by Edvard Munch. The painting contains three women wearing white, red and black, which symbolizes the stages of life: youth, maturity, ang old age. So MØ played all three women, and two of them fight over the other.
I can appreciate a sexy video, but Betty Who took it to the next level by playing the woman and the man in the relationship. Watching Betty Who flirt with, dance with, and kiss herself brings “love yourself” to a whole new meaning.
Visuals
It’s hard to describe what I like about Spencer’s video so much, it’s just so aesthetic. Spencer spends the whole video ignoring his girlfriend while questioning if they’re meant to be or not, while she’s absolutely losing her mind from him ignoring her.
This video has everything in it. Breaking down walls, walks on the beach, sexual things, motorcycles, and a really hot girl. It’s all over the place, and might be confusing, but is also really cool.
Oh Wonder paired their super relaxing song with a super awesome video. It’s posed as dancers auditioning to be in the video, unaware that they’re being filmed for the video itself. The dancers are surprised by oddly-dressed backup dancers, and they’re challenged to just go along with the backup dancers. It’s super cute, and hella relaxing.
Ludo’s video is posed like a play, where there’s nothing but props and a blank background. It’s fast and busy like a real stage production, and so enjoyable to watch.
All of Lana’s videos are beautiful, but this video is just stunning. It’s slow, relaxing, soft, and also badass. You get so see Lana walking slowly around her beach house, then shoot down a helicopter, both of which are enjoyable to watch.
A very underappreciated artist, Brooke Candy’s videos are so unique, but Nasty is my favorite. Brooke is dressed in ridiculous red outfits as she sings, and poses with different animals like scorpions and snakes. It’s just such a great video.
I can’t choose between any video by Ariana Grande because they’re all beautiful. So I just recommend watching them all.