Maroon 5’s Adam Levine resorts to the use of Snapchat filters to film the band’s three-minute music video for “Wait,” a track from the Nov. 3-released album Red Pill Blues. Lacking any semblance of artistry or seriousness, the video is a compilation of short clips of the singer lip-syncing to the song while masked by various Snapchat filters, including old favorites such as the dog filter and seasonal filters of festive reindeer.
The music video appears to be filmed entirely on Levine’s cell phone, as he holds the camera at various angles and incorporates elements of his home life—the frontman features cameos from his dog and his Victoria’s Secret model wife, Behati Prinsloo. While the couple’s adorable one-year-old daughter Dusty Rose Levine does not make an appearance, stuffed animals that presumably belong to the toddler do appear in a shot where Levine’s face is framed by the cute plushies and cartoon hearts. Levine is the only member of Maroon 5 to appear in the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnCa71iUVxA
Besides relying on an egregiously elementary concept, the music video includes many cringeworthy moments. At the 49 second mark, Levine finds himself sporting the pink bow-wearing bear filter while laying in the grass in between a pair flip-flop-clad feet—a questionable location for a Snapchat. Notably, the 38-year-old singer’s reflection grimaces at a twerking cartoon chipmunk in front of what appears to be a gaudy gold bathroom sink. During a momentary vocal pause, Levine makes various facial expressions while using the Snapchat filter that makes users’ eyes and mouths comically larger. Levine also pays close attention to his angles throughout the video, opting for a prime selfie position by extending his cell phone above his head and looking up toward the camera. Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the video is the fact that the video editor (if there even was one) left the video formatted to a vertical iPhone screen, thus leaving much of the screen to be filled with empty black space.
The video certainly matches the simple lyrical scheme of “Wait.” The chorus of the song includes lines like “Wait, can you turn around, can you turn around?” and is followed by a bridge that demonstrates little creativity. The video does not match the maturity level of the lyrics’ content, however. It is laughable and almost pitiful to watch the adult Levine ask for forgiveness while appearing as a neon bunny and morphed meerkat. Instead of looking like a video produced by a highly successful pop band, the video seems more akin to a tween fan’s homage to “Wait.” Maroon 5’s latest video is not only an insult to its earlier work—it undermines the seriousness of the music industry as a whole.
Featured Image by 222 Records
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