One Direction vs. "Mainstream"

I know in a previous blog post I made a comment about how much I love music videos, and it's so true. Now I realize what I'm about to say will definitely make a few people's eyes roll but I can live with that. I see so many mainstream music videos that are so overly sexualized and at the end I sit back and ask myself "did that really impact the song? Was that necessary?" Most often my answer is no, it's just a trick that draws people in. On the other hand, there are a small few mainstreamers that are actually making a video for a reason. One group that I really respect in the industry is One Direction. YES I SAID IT, FIGHT ME. Not only do I find their music catchy, but I think their music videos are so different from many, many artists on the charts. The "Kiss You" music video makes references to various artists, films, and famous acts over the years that have positively influenced the industry, while their video for "Best Song Ever" is a statement about how they do not want to conform with Hollywood's image of what they should be and mock the whole thing by being their weird selves (definitely worth the watch in my opinion). A bit later they released a video for their song "You and I" which did not go over very well with fans, but still remains one of my favorites because of the artistic risks that they took with it that made it very different (slower paced and simple) from what artists at the time were releasing. More recently, a video for a song called "Steal My Girl" came out that I honestly cannot explain, involving chimpanzees, sumo wrestlers, a marching band, ballerinas, and Danny DeVito. When my mom was watching it she turned to me and said "Hey, well it's creative - it's like something the Monkees would do!"

I don't really care if you don't like "boy bands" or their music, but they're trying to make an impact and bring something new to the table with their videos and music that's challenging what is popular. So many of their videos are seemingly random and quirky, veering away from anything sexy. It's undeniable to say that they got pigeonholed into a certain style that they're trying to break out of with  their work. I would encourage you to check out any of these above videos and see for yourself.