Research: Textual Analysis of a Music Video. 'SING' by ED SHEERAN
Context:
'Sing' is a song by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. The song was written by Ed Sheeran and Pharrell Williams, and produced by Pharrell Williams for Sheeran's second studio album X (read as Multiply).
The lyrics in the song are about a night out in Vegas. Sheeran has said that he was inspired to model the song after the pop and R&B tones of Justin Timberlake's album 'Justified'.
The song was released as a digital download on 7 April 2014 by Asylum and Atlantic Records and serves as the lead single from Sheeran's second studio album.
The video was directed by Emil Nava and was shot in L.A.
It best fits into Andrew Goodwin's classification of music videos under the category amplification.
Content:
A white car drives erratically through the streets of L.A. The tyres of the car are screeching as the car swerves unpredictably across the empty road.
The next shot establishes many cardboard boxes, positioned in a structured pile on a deserted street. The street is quiet, with only a faint hum of the city audible. This juxtaposes the loud screeching of the car. The piled cardboard boxes foreshadow that the car is about to come crashing through them, which it the does. The title 'Ed Sheeran' in green font appears on screen. As a tracking shot of the glowing city is shown, the artwork for the single is projected onto the screen, and the music starts after a honking of a car horn is heard. The appearance of the song's artwork signifies that the song is about to start.
The car, as foreshadowed, careers into the cardboard boxes. The car then swerves to the left and runs over several orange cones, lined up in a neat row. Smoke appears to be given off from the car's exhaust which could indicate that the erratic driving is causing not only the streets damage, but the car, too. The car then pummels into several stacked barrels. The erratic driving could indicate to the audience that the driver is not sober, or is deliberately trying to hit the obstacles on the road, as no effort is made to avoid them.
Finally, the car comes to a halt. The audience finally see the driver for the first time - it is a puppet with ginger hair and a ginger beard, wearing a leather jacket with jeans and trainers. The puppet is designed to resemble the song's co-writer and performer, Ed Sheeran. The puppet exits the car and starts to lip synch along, starting with 'It's late in the evening'. This illustrates the video, as it does take place late at night. The puppet is seen walking through Chinatown and it is implied he is unaware of how he got there, as his hand reaches up to his face in despair and disbelief.
'I don't wanna know' - a Chinese business man (evident from the mise-en-scene) lip synchs along to this line. He is singing karaoke at a bar/club, as the words appear behind him on a screen. The puppet is clearly not impressed with his efforts as he shakes his head disapprovingly. Meanwhile, the puppet sits at the bar and flirts with the barmaid. The barmaid chats and laughs with the puppet whilst she ruffles his hair. Next, he walks onto the stage and takes control of the microphone, away from the businessman and begins to lip synch along to the line 'I need you darling...'. The camera rotates around the puppet's face and the transitions are hazy which indicates that the puppet is in a drunken stupor and has perhaps lost his inhibitions.
The next shot sees a big white limo, with the puppet sticking his head out of the window. The limo pulls up next to a street where a group of young women are walking. The puppet encourages the ladies to enter the limo, which they subsequently do. The scene is interspersed with shots of the puppet singing karaoke, where it is clear to see that he is intoxicated. 'Sing!' The puppet can be seen in the back of the limo partying with the ladies, clearly enjoying the attention that is being lavished on him.
The artist (Ed Sheeran) is seen for the first time in the video standing against a white and blue disorientated striped background, playing guitar and lip synching along to the song's chorus. Scenes of the puppet partying in the limo continue to feature.
Next, the puppet is seen to be sitting in a strip club, ogling the dancers and throwing money at them. Once again, he is being lavished by female attention as a scantily clad woman sits next to him seductively. 'Kissing my mouth' - on this line, the woman sitting next to the puppet plants a kiss on his mouth, which therefore illustrates the lyrics.
The puppet is then seen to be in the nightclub toilet, where he has hazy visions of his female companion. He stumbles frequently and falls over which shows his disorientation and intoxicated state. He then vomits what appears to be sweets into a urinal.
The screen wipes and the puppet is now back driving recklessly in his car as he flails his head outside of the car window whilst driving. In the next location, he is watching as Ed Sheeran and Pharrell Williams film their section for the music video. He dances up to the men, clearly ecstatic to see them. Pharrell and Ed look dubiously at each other. However, they decide to let the puppet appear with them on screen, as all four are then seen standing in front of the blue and white backdrop dancing and having fun.
During the 'woah-oh-oh' hook, the Chinese businessman has been joined by many friends/colleagues at the bar as they join in the karaoke with him. The puppet is seen dancing along to the song in different locations, including the roof of his car and against a garage door. The editing is fast and occasionally random which reflects the up-tempo pace and context of the lyrics. There are several two-shots of Ed and his puppet lookalike to further enhance the humour of the song and indicates to the audience that the puppet is a replica of Ed, if they didn't know that already.
The puppet is then seen driving Pharrell and Ed under a tunnel in his car whilst they lip synch to the song's bridge. Shots of the colleagues dancing and singing in the bar are interspersed. Pharrell then exits the car, leaving Ed and the puppet alone, which is ironic as they are technically the same person. This is supported by two near identical shots of both the puppet and Ed playing guitar in almost identical fashion, played one after the other.
The puppet and Ed are then seeing drinking and laughing in another bar, surrounded by women who are fawning over them and competing for their affection. The puppet takes a sip of his drink through a straw and then lets his head fall to the side on the table which can portray that he is now extremely drunk. Next, the puppet is seen driving in his car where he is signalled to pull over by a policeman in a motorbike, presumably for drunk driving. The puppet is then seen in a police station standing against an identity parade background, holding a placard with the name 'Ed Sheeran' on it.
The screen then cuts to black. The morning after the night before is then shown, with the puppet and Ed sprawled across separate twin beds whilst several other women are sleeping in their hotel room. One woman has the coil for the telephone wrapped around her foot which further reinforces the idea that the night out was wild. Ed and the puppet wake up simultaneously and look over to each other. Ed gives the puppet a knowing smile, indicating he is happy and impressed with how the evening went.
