Christina Perri has just released a gravity defying epic video for her single, "Arms," the lead single from Philadelphia-born singer-songwriter's upcoming debut album, "Lovestrong" will be released on May 10. Last July, a struggling Perri was asked to perform a song she had written, a defiant break-up anthem called "Jar of Hearts," on the Fox show "So You Think You Can Dance." Her performance catapulted the 24-year-old Philadelphia native into the public eye, her song went on to sell a million downloads and she landed a deal with Atlantic Records.And here she is again, follow-up her successful of the heartbreaking debut single "Jar of Hearts," "Arms," is another beautiful ballad and a great uptempo pop/rock song and built around a piano melody. Perri explained "'Arms' is about the fight between your heart and your mind. Your heart wants to be loved but your head is always telling you reasons not to be with him or her, or how you are not worth the love. It's about the struggle and finally giving in when you're wrapped in their arms. Then you get it. Then you feel loved and love wins." The song speaks to me of love and appreciation, and Perri's distinctive voice this time wrapped around a more upbeat point of view.
Conceptually, the Budding star's dream-sequence video is a winner - Perri's narrator wanders restlessly across air, sea, and land, and only finds peace beside her love. Not bad for a song about faith in love ultimately overcoming an urge to flee born of insecurity and fear! But while Perri's arms communicate plenty about what's changed, framing the shots identically would have been particularly potent. The execution is similarly spotty throughout. When Perri floats into the air, wrapped in her sheet, the sequence seems neither real nor dream-unreal enough. But once she plunges underwater and is rescued by her band, the video regains momentum.
The rain doesn't hurt, but it doesn't seem particularly necessary either. Perri and band can communicate the song's emotions powerfully without high-concept trappings, so even when the visuals are effective, they're ancillary. And when they're not effective, they're really distracting. The video was shot over a two-day period that Perri described as "a two-day shoot that kicked my ass so hard." Perri had co-written the video treatment herself. Speaking of the concept of the video, Perri stated that she took a physical pummeling as she played a super-hero during the shoot, where she jokingly added "I don't know why I think I'm an action hero."
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