10. All Too Well — Taylor Swift
Swift has never shied away from revealing details of her private life. With the new 10-minute version of her classic break-up song, first heard on 2012’s Red, she had an actor (Sadie Sink) play a younger version of herself, while Dylan O’Brien starred as a former beau — supposedly her ex-lover Jake Gyllenhaal.
9. Streets — Doja Cat
The Manhattan skyline, a nuclear explosion, the Silhouette Challenge, Spider-Man, a singing mannequin: Christian Breslauer’s stunning visualisation of the Californian rapper’s huge TikTok-aided hit was film noir-like in its depiction of mean city streets where hunted turns hunter and ghouls lurk in the shadows and rise from the asphalt.
8. Bad Habits — Ed Sheeran
It was a relief to see Sheeran swap soppy dancing for something fun. Donning a pink suit and heavy eyeshadow, the singer dressed as a vampire for a wild night out with other ghouls. Sheeran’s performance won’t win him any acting accolades, but he did seem to be enjoying himself while he was suspended over a twilight cityscape.
7. Don’t Judge Me — FKA Twigs, Headie One and Fred Again
In one room, an unseen force kept wrenching Tahliah Barnett back to her seat. In another space, dancers contorted around visual artist Kara Walker’s 42ft fountain — a monument to the atrocities of the slave trade. Directed by Emmanuel Adjei, who co-directed Beyoncé’s Black Is King, it was a sophisticated depiction of systemic racism.
6. I Do This All The Time — Self Esteem
Rebecca Lucy Taylor directed herself in this incredibly powerful video. Against a black backdrop, she gives a straight-to-camera account of one of the most haunting but uplifting songs on Prioritise Pleasure, our album of the year. The moment where her double appears, her back to the viewer, and Taylor hugs her and reassures her(self) is indescribably moving.
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5. Thot Shit — Megan Thee Stallion
Inspired by criticism of WAP, her hit collaboration with Cardi B, Megan flipped the bird at her conservative detractors with a video in which she and her posse stalk — and twerk at — a Republican politician who has posted a misogynistic slur beneath another of her videos. That’s the way to do it.
4. Solar Power — Lorde
There was something calming about Lorde cavorting on a sunny beach with her pals. Dazzling in bright yellow, the New Zealander’s frolics in the sand felt like a breath of fresh air, and an escape from locked-down cities and pandemic woes. Directed by the singer with her long-term collaborator Joel Kefali, it was an infectious summer delight.
3. Good 4 U — Olivia Rodrigo
The premise for Rodrigo’s pop-punk video was clichéd: a girl sets fire to the bedroom of a former flame. But that was the point — an unapologetic tale of a break-up, with savvy nods to cult feminist films of the 1990s. The 18-year-old exuded confidence as she bought petrol, wearing leather gloves, a cheerleader outfit — and a knowing smirk.
2. Montero (Call Me by Your Name) — Lil Nas X
The title track from the Old Town Road singer’s debut album was explicit enough, but the video was off the scale. How telling, though, that its depiction of the star giving a lap dance to Satan ruffled very few feathers. Compare that with the storm whipped up by Madonna’s similarly provocative Like a Prayer.
1. Point and Kill — Little Simz feat Obongjayar
The videos released for tracks from Little Simz’s fourth album, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, were daring, witty and dazzling, but it was this extraordinary promo that led the pack. Filmed in Nigeria by Ebeneza Blanche, who has previously worked with Skepta and the like, it features Simz and Obongjayar as a local Bonnie and Clyde.
