We love Tinashe, even if she does work with Chris Brown. She sings really lovely and she dances like, really, really well and she wears nice clothes. Individually one might not consider these components to be Perfect Pop Star requirements, but collectively what a combination. While there will never be a ‘new Beyonce’ because we’ve got one and she’s more than enough thanks, we do think Tinashe is about to be the ‘new Tinashe’. With a brand new video to be all excited about, we took a good, long, hard look at Player. Here’s what we learnt ….
1. The actual definition of the word ‘player’, annotated at the beginning of the video with a handy dictionary definition. Thanks Tinashe!
2. People really have forgiven Chris Brown. From Lil Wayne to Rita Ora, the troubled singer still gets the co-sign from performers new and old.
3. Tinashe is clearly a fan of Scott Pilgrim Faces The World. In the video, she takes on the seven evil exes, albeit in Player there’s five, including Brown and one who is a lady. In Tinashe’s world, she dances them to death rather than going the more traditional route of poisoning her victims with non-vegan milk or turning them into 10,000 coins. Each to their own.
4. In Player, she legit outdances Chris Brown.
5. Tinashe is also into CSI (we can’t confirm her favourite, but we’re guessing Miami because that’s everybody’s favourite right?), judging by the techy transparent screen that keeps her and Brown apart. Unless the probation department are trialing a new type of restraining order. Either way.
6. Tinashe needs to buy some more furniture. Her spacious apartment is really nice and particularly good for dancing people to death, but so sparse. You want to get down to Ikea for a Billy, luv.
7. Following his Strictly style video for Ed Sheeran’s Thinking Out Loud, we’re getting the distinct impression that Joyride director Emil Nava really, really likes a tango.
8. As is per ‘the way’ with contemporary popstars, the video had a ‘consumer facing’ ‘experiential’ ‘experience’, with Tinny meeting her fans in Times Square. She picked up some press and some fans in a bus and drove them around Manhattan for a bit before ‘whisking’ them to 42nd Street where they all watched player on a big fuck-off screen. Marketing, 1, The World, 0.
9. Joyride sets out Tinashe’s I’m A Pop Star stall as she leaves the alt-R&B climes of Aquarius for the more uptempo club ready beats of Joyride, produced by Alex Purple and Guetta collaborator LULOU.
10. The video is three minutes and 49 seconds long. We will shut up now and you can watch it.
Credits
Portrait Stephanie Sian Smith