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“Colin and I put our hearts behind making this video…” – Justin Bieber
Back in late March of 2010, a barely 16-year-old Justin Bieber released the ‘Never Let You Go’ music video. Directed by Colin Tilley, the video focused on a very young Justin, wandering through an aquarium, while singing to a teen girl dressed in 2010 fashion. (The video has been viewed over 290 million times and is quite adorable if you haven’t seen it!)
Fast-forward 10 entire years and Colin Tilley is back to direct his third Justin video- ‘Holy, ft. Chance The Rapper’. Clearly, if Justin enjoys working with someone, he seeks to work with them in them again, and again in future projects.
Similarly, this new single actually marks the FIFTH time Justin and Chance The Rapper have collaborated together. Looking at the length of their friendship, it’s most likely not their last collaboration either. The duo first worked together (with Colin Tilley directing), all the way back in 2014, on Justin’s song and video, ‘Confident, ft. Chance The Rapper’. Additionally, during the years 2016, 2017, and 2018, Chance and Justin participated in one collab every year. The director said of the duo, “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…”
Powerful evolution indeed, with 13 million views, ‘Holy, ft. Chance The Rapper’, broke a career record as Justin’s most viewed music video in 24 hours!
The ‘Holy’ music video was shot at a studio in Pomona California, not far away from Raging Waters Los Angeles, the location of Justin Bieber’s ‘Beauty and the Beat’ video. Unlike, the party video though, this one was very different. According to the director, “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… 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… When Justin sent me the song… I really wanted to know the meaning and what it meant to him… 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’…”
It’s fresh to see Justin portraying a different type of character in a well crafted realistic story. Much of the music video evokes the feeling of an indie film drama. According to Justin, a ‘new era’ has begun. Does this mean we’ll be seeing more of this vibe from now on? How far his music videos have matured, we’re so proud!
Watch the footnotes video below to learn even more about Justin Bieber’s ‘Holy’.
What do you think of Holy? Let us know your favourite Bieber music video of all time in the comments below!