ONTD Original: Music Video Tropes Pt. 1 - A Sandy Desert Locale
There is a sister post with the same theme but with K-Pop videos over on Omona.
Pop stars, they're just like us! They eat, they sleep, they frequently get lost in the desert where they dance and sing and brood! I've decided to make a series on Music Video tropes - some common and relatively normal, some less frequent but incredibly bizarre. I've started with a common and understandable trope to kick things off - the nondescript desert location (sometimes featuring a gas station, or a diner, and frequently featuring a sick overhead shot of a car driving - usually down a lone highway that seems to stretch on forever).
Below I've compiled a short list of music videos featuring pop stars that, for some reason or another, are in the middle of the desert:
Spice Girls - Say You'll Be There
What is the plot of this? Are the girls alien action stars waiting for male prey in the desert? I have no idea, but we've got dancing, iconic fashion, and the obligatory overhead shot of a car cruisin' (which represents FREEDOM! in these music videos, also so does the desert, it's all very symbolic).
Mya - Case of the Ex
A dance battle in the desert! Where else would they do it!? They had to go all the way out there to get away from "her" - they broke up in '96 but she's still a problem!
One Direction - Steal My Girl
The boys apparently materialize in the desert (why are they so confused coming out of that trailer?) and then proceed to shoot a music video with the icon, the LEGEND, Danny DeVito.
Bonus: Poor Louis found himself stuck in a desert again when he filmed his solo music video for his song "Walls"
Ariana Grande - Into You
Still Ariana's best song - ohhh that highway, ohhh that motorcycle, ohhh those...unharmonious shots of Ariana unhappy at a fancy party with a narcissistic man in an attempt to give us a plot. It's a desert video - we don't need a plot, we just need rocks and cute looks!
Beyoncé - Run the World (Girls)
Beyoncé running a very dystopian looking desert world from an underpass!
Bonus: also sort of Spirit (although it makes way more sense and is visually stunning) and to a lesser extent, Sweet Dreams (which is visually bleak and she's only in the desert for a minute before she's trapped by another music video trope - "the room").
Britney Spears - I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman
How'd she get up there? She probably had to Work Bitch!
Rihanna - Hard (Feat. Jeezy)
Rihanna in haute couture training her Navy in the desert while Jeezy sits on some scrap metal.
Shania Twain - That Don't Impress Me Much
Name a more iconic desert music video. I'll wait!
S Club 7 - S Club Party
A pop group gets lost in the desert, time travel, and have to dance their way back to the present.
Billie Eilish - Bellyache
Just a girl and her wagon full of cash taking a stroll down the highway that cuts through - *checks notes* - a desert.
Ke$ha - Your Love Is My Drug
Ke$ha's $teez is gonna be affected by that dry de$ert air!
Other Music Videos Starring the Desert:
Backstreet Boys - Incomplete
Doja Cat - Rules
Janelle Monáe - PYNK
Justin Bieber - Purpose
Black Eyed Peas - Imma Be
Nelly - Hey Porsche
Selena Gomez & The Scene - A Year Without Rain
Lady Gaga - Stupid Love
Madonna - Frozen
+ 6 hundred million others
Sources: Spice Girls / Mya / One Direction / Louis / Ariana / Beyoncé / Beyoncé 2 / Beyoncé 3 / Britney / Britney 2 / Rihanna /Shania / S Club 7 / Billie / Ke$ha / Backstreet Boys / Doja Cat / Janelle Monáe / Justin Bieber / Black Eyed Peas / Nelly / Selena Gomez & The Scene / Lady Gaga / Madonna
Pop stars, they're just like us! They eat, they sleep, they frequently get lost in the desert where they dance and sing and brood! I've decided to make a series on Music Video tropes - some common and relatively normal, some less frequent but incredibly bizarre. I've started with a common and understandable trope to kick things off - the nondescript desert location (sometimes featuring a gas station, or a diner, and frequently featuring a sick overhead shot of a car driving - usually down a lone highway that seems to stretch on forever).
Below I've compiled a short list of music videos featuring pop stars that, for some reason or another, are in the middle of the desert:
Spice Girls - Say You'll Be There
Click to viewWhat is the plot of this? Are the girls alien action stars waiting for male prey in the desert? I have no idea, but we've got dancing, iconic fashion, and the obligatory overhead shot of a car cruisin' (which represents FREEDOM! in these music videos, also so does the desert, it's all very symbolic).
Mya - Case of the Ex
A dance battle in the desert! Where else would they do it!? They had to go all the way out there to get away from "her" - they broke up in '96 but she's still a problem!
One Direction - Steal My Girl
The boys apparently materialize in the desert (why are they so confused coming out of that trailer?) and then proceed to shoot a music video with the icon, the LEGEND, Danny DeVito.
Bonus: Poor Louis found himself stuck in a desert again when he filmed his solo music video for his song "Walls"
Ariana Grande - Into You
Still Ariana's best song - ohhh that highway, ohhh that motorcycle, ohhh those...unharmonious shots of Ariana unhappy at a fancy party with a narcissistic man in an attempt to give us a plot. It's a desert video - we don't need a plot, we just need rocks and cute looks!
Beyoncé - Run the World (Girls)
Beyoncé running a very dystopian looking desert world from an underpass!
Bonus: also sort of Spirit (although it makes way more sense and is visually stunning) and to a lesser extent, Sweet Dreams (which is visually bleak and she's only in the desert for a minute before she's trapped by another music video trope - "the room").
Britney Spears - I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman
How'd she get up there? She probably had to Work Bitch!
Rihanna - Hard (Feat. Jeezy)
Rihanna in haute couture training her Navy in the desert while Jeezy sits on some scrap metal.
Shania Twain - That Don't Impress Me Much
Name a more iconic desert music video. I'll wait!
S Club 7 - S Club Party
A pop group gets lost in the desert, time travel, and have to dance their way back to the present.
Billie Eilish - Bellyache
Just a girl and her wagon full of cash taking a stroll down the highway that cuts through - *checks notes* - a desert.
Ke$ha - Your Love Is My Drug
Ke$ha's $teez is gonna be affected by that dry de$ert air!
Other Music Videos Starring the Desert:
Backstreet Boys - Incomplete
Doja Cat - Rules
Janelle Monáe - PYNK
Justin Bieber - Purpose
Black Eyed Peas - Imma Be
Nelly - Hey Porsche
Selena Gomez & The Scene - A Year Without Rain
Lady Gaga - Stupid Love
Madonna - Frozen
+ 6 hundred million others
Sources: Spice Girls / Mya / One Direction / Louis / Ariana / Beyoncé / Beyoncé 2 / Beyoncé 3 / Britney / Britney 2 / Rihanna /Shania / S Club 7 / Billie / Ke$ha / Backstreet Boys / Doja Cat / Janelle Monáe / Justin Bieber / Black Eyed Peas / Nelly / Selena Gomez & The Scene / Lady Gaga / Madonna