Jonathan Currinn
Welcome to the Fuzzmas Advent Awards, a series running every day throughout December celebrating all our favourite things from 2018. Today we’re counting down our top 10 music videos from this year.
2018 has been full of surprises in the music world, for sure, from new music to comeback stars, from amazing music videos to incredible albums. We decided to highlight some incredible music videos that have been released this year.
There’s been plenty of iconic visuals that has certainly grabbed all of our attention this year, and then there have been some that have flown under most of our radars that certainly deserves the spotlight which we are more-than-happy to bring to them.
For day twenty-three of our Fuzzmas Advent Awards, we’ve collated 10 of the best 2018 music videos, some have amazing narratives, others have brilliant performance pieces, and some are just visually beautiful.
10. Blair St. Clair – Now Or Never
We became fans of Blair St. Clair ever since she appeared as a contestant on RuPaul’s Drag Race season ten, where she placed ninth in the competition. From there she went on to drop this awesome music video that shows her struggle with alcohol – which was reported across the media during her time on the show – and how she’s turned her back on the drug and pulled herself together. The song and music video relate perfectly, with Blair St. Clair deciding to leave her life and boarding a plane (with drag queens acting as cabin crew – YAS Queen!) and turning her world into colour. Highly polished and in control, Blair St. Clair proves she can sing, dance, and act.
9. Janelle Monáe – Make Me Feel
This year saw Janelle Monáe drop her new album Dirty Computer which is accompanied with a 45-minute narrative film that is certainly worth a watch as it makes this album iconic. Part of the film is this music video where we watch Janelle Monáe display her pansexuality perfectly whilst also being bright and beautiful and just being herself. It’s a brave portrayal, but she isn’t one to play it safe, and good for her as we truly believe that happiness comes from being able to be who you are.
8. Little Mix – Woman Like Me (feat. Nicki Minaj)
Another powerful music video about being who you are, Little Mix show an act of defiance to what some people consider what women should be. It’s an iconic music video of this year, purely because this world we currently live in now see women as equals and as the gender pay gap starts to equal out, Little Mix puts a stamp on to who they are. Taking on roles that women were expected to do centuries ago, they show their lady-likeness, however throwing it all away in the end with multiple shots throughout showing that they’re more than that and that women should be able to be who they are.
7. Ariana Grande – No Tears Left To Cry
Meddling with heads all around the world with this conceptual performance piece, Ariana Grande defies gravity in every single way imaginable – it’s confusing, weird, but oh-so-brilliant. Just imagine living in such a world; can we join you, Ariana Grande? We watch her walk up walls, walk on the ceiling, hang down-side-up, and dance on the side of a building (or is it the top and the dancers are on the side? Who knows?) It’s a brilliant performance piece that captivated us all as soon as it was dropped.
6. Brandon Stansell – For You
Another music video that has an appearance of a drag queen, this time we have Eureka O’Hara playing one of the main characters alongside the singer, Brandon Stansell. In this narrative-driven music video we watch as our main two characters turn up to a party separately, and they aren’t welcomed by the guests. When Eureka O’Hara runs off upset, Brandon Stansell follows and cheers her up, which turns her beautiful; she then turns her back on him and goes after the guy who hurt her in the first place – he’s totally interested now. It takes some time, but Eureka O’Hara gains a conscience and realises what she’s done, and returns to Brandon Stansell, and it’s her turn to cheer him up. This visual really plays on the theme of what’s inside that really counts and that beauty isn’t everything. Well, that’s exactly what makes this music video beautiful to watch.
5. The Carters – APES**T
Here’s a music video that has won a few awards and continues to show how powerful Beyoncé and Jay-Z truly are. Ever since they dropped their recent respective albums about their marital troubles, they’ve teamed up to make music together and it has surely caught everyone’s attention. As for this music video, they are personifying black beauty, bringing race and it’s relationship to the western culture. It’s a clear message throughout as they display their power and wealth by renting out the Louvre – seriously, how much money does it cost to do just that? The Louvre is the world’s largest museum and is totally iconic. Seeing the stars and their dancers in the Louvre, showing the contrast and challenging the world’s ideals of beauty, just makes this music video beyond powerful.
4. Brandon Stansell – Hometown
Here he is again, with another incredible music video, this time pulling on our heartstrings in every way possible. This song’s release on his debut studio album brought tears to our eyes as it’s an honest personal story of how Brandon Stansell didn’t feel comfortable in his hometown after coming out as gay. The music video heightens that story, showcasing the shame his on-screen mother feels and watching her shun him out of his family home. We watch as things unfold as Brandon Stansell lives with a friend and his on-screen mother is in the house by herself. The ending brings hope to the entire LGBTQ+ community, hope that things will work out in the end and that acceptance is possible. You can’t get any more powerful than that final message.
3. Charli XCX & Troye Sivan – 1999
We all want to go back to 1999, don’t we? Back to the times when things seemed simpler and we didn’t have to worry about anything – don’t we all wish we didn’t have to become adults? Well this music video sees Charli XCX and Troye Sivan take on 1999 stars’ iconic music videos from TLC to Eminem, from the Spice Girls to the Backstreet Boys, as well as re-enacting adverts and films from Britney Spears in Sketchers to Surge pop; there’s also a Titanic scene and a Blair Witch Project scene. We love how fitting Troye Sivan is as Eminem and Justin Timberlake, whilst Charli XCX works it as Emma Bunton, aka Baby Spice, from the Spice Girls. There’s also re-enactments of The Matrix, Charli XCX dresses up as Steve Jobs with an iMac G3, and there’s also an iconic scene from American Beauty. We also can’t forget about her dressing up as Rose McGowan, and Troye Sivan being Marilyn Manson. This is just brilliant.
2. Ariana Grande – thank u, next
We all knew this was going to appear in this list, but it just missed out on the top spot. Ariana Grande broke records with the release of this music video, which accompanies the song that has currently been a worldwide smash, topping charts all over the world. In the music video, she takes on character roles from four iconic 00’s films from Regina George in Mean Girls to Torrance Shipman in Bring It On, from Jenna Rink in 13 Going On 30 to Elle Woods in Legally Blonde. There’s a lot going on in this music video with scenes from each film that are truly unforgettable, with a range of stars making cameos. If there’s one music video we’re all going to remember from 2018, it’s this one.
1. Childish Gambino – This Is America
Winning awards all across the board and topping several music video lists – now including ours – is Childish Gambino with “This Is America”. Let’s be honest, this clip is shocking from start to finish and that is exactly the whole idea. It’s political, focusing on gun violence and America’s laws on guns overall; but not just that, there are social and cultural themes going on around the singer as he walks through the video shirtless, dancing, and grabbing a gun and shooting people, before continuing on as if nothing happened. It’s beyond iconic and truly unforgettable.
