Are You Happy?

I had just finished recording my new song “Happy” and my good friend from high school, Taylor, who had become a very talented videographer was helping me put together a music video for the song. We spent weeks planning and preparing before heading to New York City for the filming. But there was one crucial missing component that we had not yet nailed down—booking an actress to play the part of my love interest in the video. Instead of hiring an NYC-based actress, we decided on casting the girl who I had just started dating a month prior. She had an acting background, looked the part, and was willing to take a few days off work to come with us and film in Manhattan without being paid as long as we covered her expenses—am I wise or am I stupid??? Let’s find out.

We had a great time filming the music video in various spots around Manhattan & Brooklyn. Taylor captured all kinds of footage of romantic interactions between me and my then brand-new-real-life-girlfriend that would soon be edited together to play out during this song about anticipating where a relationship might take you. In effect, we had painted a video portrait of a picture-perfect relationship that most anyone would enjoy experiencing. But Taylor and I had not yet figured out the ending of the video. Do we just give our audience a “happily ever-after” conclusion to this ambiguous song filled with question marks? We came up with a clever twist that we thought would work well, and look good on camera… you’ll see.

It’s so ironic now to look back and watch the blurry ending of this video where my on-screen love interest is slowly and subtly pulling away from me. In real life, she and I continued our relationship and were a couple for several years before she did what must have looked like exactly that—slowly and subtly pulled away from me. Of course the actual experience of it was a quite painful breakup that felt like she ripped my beating heart right out of my love-song-singing chest. I should be careful to clarify here: she’s a wonderful person, I’m completely over it now, and I wish her nothing but the best.

So for that particular lady, time answered the question that the song asks… I guess I didn’t make her happy. But that is life and I’m sure you can relate. Enjoy “Happy” and let me know what you think!

If you like my song Happy, check out my album HIGHER