Global superstar Justin Bieber and award-winning music video director Colin Tilley (Nicki Minaj, 50 Cent, Lil Wayne) have teamed up with Vevo to reveal everything you didn’t know about his latest music video, “Holy,” for a brand new episode of Vevo Footnotes.
Bieber’s latest single, featuring Chance The Rapper, was released simultaneously with its companion clip on September 17, and quickly broke the record of his most-viewed video on his Vevo channel in 24 hours with 13 million views.
Tilley, who first worked with Bieber 10 years ago on the “Never Let You Go” video, and with both Bieber and Chance back in 2014 on “Confident,” explains how closely the two worked together to create a narrative that reflects the pain, heartache and frustration people are experiencing all around the world right now.
“The fact that JB and Chance have an incredible connection and can tell this story together, and I can help orchestrate, is a powerful moment and evolution from ‘Confident,’” says Tilley.
FOOTNOTES OUTLINE:
[00:13] “Holy” is the latest release from Justin Bieber who announced the release, stating “New era, New Single. It begins.”
[00:19] The song features Chance The Rapper and was produced by Jorgen Odegard and Jon Bellion.
[00:32] The video was directed by Colin Tilley who first worked with Justin Bieber 10 years ago on his video for “Never Let You Go.”
[00:52] Tilley also previously worked with both Justin Bieber and Chance the Rapper back in 2014 when he directed the video for “Confident.”
[01:11] “When Justin sent me the song…I really wanted to know the meaning and what it meant to him.” – Colin Tilley
[01:16] “He was like ‘You could be having the worst day in the world but what kept me going was the love I had with my wife which is the meaning behind ‘Holy.’” – Colin Tilley
[01:31] “That’s how the story developed. It touches on what the world is going through – people are losing their jobs, it’s a crazy time.” – Colin Tilley
[01:36] “The idea of strangers helping each other can change the outcome of everything. That’s the light at the end of the tunnel we were trying to push for.” – Colin Tilley
[01:50] To make sure the performances came through authentically, the entire video was shot with dialogue and played out as real scenes.
[01:56] Tilley was particularly inspired by two indie films — Blue Valentine and Place Beyond the Pines.
[02:02] They shot the video at a studio in Pomona and recreated each of the sets of a couple of days.
[02:51] The video stars actress and singer Ryan Destiny who you may recognize from television series such as Star and Grown-ish.
[02:58] She also starred in Big Sean’s music videos for “Single Again” and “Paradise.”
[03:10] Fun fact: Destiny actually won a singing contest to attend the red carpet premiere of Justin Bieber’s film Never Say Never back in 2011.
[03:19] Tilley wanted Chance to feel like more of a narrator for this piece.
[03:22] “I wanted Chance to tell his side of the story. It’s a small departure from the rest of the story we were telling.” – Colin Tilley
[03:44] “The fact that JB and Chance have an incredible connection and can tell this story together and I can help orchestrate is a powerful moment and evolution from ‘Confident…’”
[03:49] “Our intention was not to make your typical music video; we really wanted to push this in a narrative direction. A new era of Justin.”
[04:42] Deciding who to cast for the video was a collaborative effort between Justin Bieber and Colin.
[04:45] “Wilmer came up as someone who might really step up to the plate to play this character. It was cool when I got on the phone with him, he spoke about wanting to represent the Latinos and was passionate about this role that I wrote for him and the glove fit perfectly.” – Colin Tilley
[05:06] “Colin and I put our hearts behind making this video…We know that there’s a lot going on in the world right now. A lot of pain, a lot of heartache, a lot of frustration, a lot of people losing jobs.” – Justin Bieber
