With references to Beyoncé, Mr. Suave, and Wes Anderson, James Reid hits all the right notes in the isolation-anchored music video of his latest release, Hello.
Remember when the Beyoncé, acknowledged that the Super Selfie series of Gab Valenciano was an inspiration for her music video, 7/11? As if being knighted into the league of extraordinary that has caught the eye of the queen of queens, the ultimate validation gets an extension of expression in the music video of James Reid, which Valenciano himself directed and edited. Just like with Beyoncé, we get a rare look into the humor of James Reid in Hello, which is a side to him that not many are privy to.
With heaps of silliness, quirks, and cuts, the smooth and saucy funk-pop track is a decided departure from his signature brooding visual expositions, which are typically serious and yes, smart. “Having spent a lot of my time by myself during the quarantine, I’ve learned to dive into the depths of PERSONAL INTROSPECTION. It’s truly beautiful knowing and experiencing TRUE GROWTH—a growth that’s only birthed within,” writes James Reid on the description of the Hello music video. “Our minds are infinite in so many ways, and learning how to tap into that is ULTIMATE FREEDOM. I’ve learned how to translate that to my everyday actions and now I’m 100% always driven to achieve MY GOALS so that the universe can be a BETTER PLACE.”
This liberty is realized in the easy to listen single, which is positioned as the final piece of the puzzle in his re-emergence into the music scene. Sparkling fresh, warm, and a whole mood in a song, Hello by James Reid perfectly encapsulates this fragment of his life as he reconnects on the outside, as well as of course, on the inside.
Party For One More?
“This song portrays that eagerness to make connections, to personally say hello again,” says James Reid in a statement. And if the lyrics and the rhythm already got you hooked into this cool, calm, and collected state of mind, then the music video ups the ante with charm and candor.
Like a languid drawl of the words “hello” in the blur of time stretched beyond recognition, the energy of the song, as well as of the flipside of James Reid that was realized in a Wes Anderson meets Bruno Mars vibe is pure joy in motion. Dressed in a slew of retro-inspired fashion, the waves of his hair tumbling ever so effortlessly at every flick of his face, and of course, that seemingly out-of-place moustache (hello, Mr. Suave), all the considered pomp in the visual cues made perfect sense to diffuse the sensual-skewing poetry of the song.
We’ve seen this in doses in past eras of James Reid, but in Hello, the dance and comedy laced into the storytelling and characterization is genuine and in good spirits. There is a lot of nostalgia that courses through in the music video, but it isn’t all sepia-tones, because when the track picks up in the tempered drops of beats and bass, we are immediately whisked away to a neon-lit 80s fantasy that makes you want to get up, laugh a little, and dance—that is if you haven’t already.
Clearly, he is having fun even in apparent isolation. Apparently, all you need are music, lights, and a bit of crazy, and then you’re good to go. Hello, we want to co-sign on this party for one, James Reid.
CONTINUE READING: STUCK IN A FUNK? WELL, JAMES REID IS BACK TO HELP YOU WITH THE QUENCHING GULP OF SODA
