Blake Shelton is no stranger to the lime-light. In fact, he looks very calm and collected when performing in front of large crowds. This is probably why the director of his “Neon Light” video, Cody Kern, decided to keep it natural. The song is the lead single from his 9th studio album entitled “Bringing back the Sunshine”. It was released in August and the video premiered in September. With more than 2 million hits on YouTube, the video doesn’t rely on any special sets or effects. Instead, it relies on the feel-good nature of the song and the spirit of the fans.
Starting out with slow motion shots of random fans having a good time and gathering for the show, the viewer is casually introduced to the “Ten Times Crazier Tour”. The slow motion shots continue to the moments just before the show starts, with fans lifting their hands in expectation while Shelton readies himself to go on stage. When he does make his appearance there is a surge of energy from the crowd. Throughout the video there are cuts to fun moments between shows and Shelton is even showed teasingly flicking off the camera along with a crew member. Other than that it’s the type of video you sit back and watch while having a drink in your hand.
Even though there is nothing really spectacular or even groundbreaking about the video, it serves its purpose. If perhaps Kern went with a video that suited the lyrics of the song then we may have had something more typical. Considering the song is humorously focused towards drinking away your ex and having some fun along the way, Kern made the right choice to keep it simple. Another factor that supports the choice of theme can be Shelton’s attitude. He admitted that for the most part his previous albums were released while he was happily in love. This one on the other hand sees him dealing with a second divorce, so maybe it’s good to just see him do his thing on stage rather than in a bar hitting on the prettiest blonde.
In essence this is a classic style for music videos, because fans always love to see their heroes performing live with the band. Also, it’s the type video that never fails to keep viewers entertained. Much more attention can now be focused towards the lyrics, which were written by Andrew Dorff, Mark Irwin and Josh Kear. One can also say that a little focus went to drinking. As a nice finishing touch Shelton takes a drink in front of the fans after the song is finished.
We are unclear of the meaning for Blake giving the finger in the video? Maybe it’s just over our heads…
In a short three months the song sold more than 400 000 copies and the video, of course, went viral. For critics it was a step back into the more traditional songs people had come to associate Shelton with, and although it was mainly received on a positive note by critics, the repetition of lyrics was criticized somewhat. Despite what critics might think, the fans obviously didn’t pay attention, because it still peaked at No. 1 on the Country Airplay charts and No. 3 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart.
