Arts, Music

Dua Lipa Uses Colors to Explain Cognitive Dissonance in ‘Be The One’ Video

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Though English singer Dua Lipa has already released a headshot heavy video for “Be the One” back in October of 2015, the latest reiteration appears to be far more lucrative than the previous installment. Her eponymous debut album, set to be released on Feb. 10, 2017, is shaping up to be a captivating expose, if this music video is any indication.

As the video opens to a panning shot of a motel at night, colorful dust is illuminated by streetlights. Inside, curtains, lamps, and sheets are lit up with much the same colors as Lipa seemingly argues with a man. Cutting to a shot of a road, with Lipa driving a car bedazzled with orbs of light, we see her stop as she witnesses a comet fall from the sky. As she continues on, we begin to see shots of the road. This time, the man is running barefoot in Lipa’s direction.

Interspersed with repeating images of colorful voids inside of an eye and glimpses of Lipa’s face, the video ends as the man stops running to see Lipa in the road with her car. She soon splits into a diffraction image of herself, hovering above the ground as the music reaches its soft conclusion.



The video as a whole seems, as is the current trend, to be a sort of ’80s nostalgia homage in its use of vibrant colors. Despite this, the use of color in the video was interesting and seemed to compliment the lyrics of the song well—specifically those that speak about the confusion of differing opinions. Lyrics like “I see the moon / Oh, when you’re looking at the sun” and “I see blue / Oh and you see everything in red” speak to this dissonance. The overall message, to be taken back by a lover, because you could “be the one,” is plainly evident in the video, through the literal chase on the road.

The ending, of a diffracted self, echoes the lines: “Let me get to know you.”

Illustrating the notion of not seeing eye to eye through color and light is a thought-provoking style. Though some of the other imagery is not as clear, the interpretive nature of the video is worth a gander for this upcoming artist.

Featured Image By Warner Bros. Records

December 8, 2016