the challenge
At the time, Mnelia didn't have a huge online presence. She released a song that started gaining serious attention after going viral on TikTok and Twitter, so we suddenly had an opportunity that needed to be acted on quickly.
The tweet happened around December, which made things more difficult because Christmas meant there was very little time to organise a production. We needed to move quickly and get the song and visual out while the momentum was still there.
the approach
We developed the concept and rollout plan with the aim of getting everything shot and released around January/February.
I co-directed the music video but also took on a lot of the creative production. I helped organise the cast, dancers, props, locations and other elements needed for the shoot.
There were also several problems on the day. Locations cancelled, vehicles and props we needed became unavailable and we didn't have a huge team or budget to fall back on. I had to make decisions quickly and find alternatives on the spot without losing the overall creative idea.
results
The video reached 2.7M+ views on YouTube, while the song went on to achieve 14M+ Spotify streams.
More importantly, it became a pivotal moment in Mnelia's career, helping push her into the wider conversation around UK R&B at a really important period for the genre, just before COVID.
Her social following and engagement also increased significantly following the release.
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