Video Review: Zedd & Hayley Williams “Stay The Night”

Hayley Williams, surrounded by hanging lightbulbs, which cast a glow over her, begins to sing. The light reflects, creating faint streaks when she turns around and blurring the color of her hair.

In the corner, Zedd plays the piano as the outline of the lightbulbs are shadowed over him.

In an apartment, a woman leans over by a couch, thinking. She looks towards her boyfriend who puts his hand to chin, considering what she proposed.

The woman holds the picture to her chest, not wanting to view the memory again. She sets it back on the table, next to Beats by Dre.

As Zedd plays the piano, the reflection of the light becomes skeletal, resembling bones and joints.

The woman turns off the lamp. Her boyfriend sits down to next to her, as she goes out of focus. She puts her feet on the table and he goes out of focus. Their images rotate as they disappear, starting with the woman.They lean by the table, folding their hands together. They discover they are both next to one another and they begin to move closer. He puts his hand, ready to rest on her cheek. The light turns into flames.

They both stand on either side of the couch. She smacks the center of it, rolling towards the center. He spins to her as she moves to the left side. She lies down on the couch as he puts her hand on her cheek. She moves away, whipping her hair.

She holds onto his arm, which he put around her and she rests her head in his lap.

Williams dances among the light. After Williams rolls her head, the woman copies the same movement, her cheek resting on his hand. The man jumps over another couch. She stays behind by other couch, waiting for him. They look at each other and drop to the floor at the same time.

Mostly in shadow with little light, they both rise up from opposite sides of the couch again.

The woman lands on the bed while he is shown on the other side. He turns to see if she’s there and quickly spoons her. She escapes and he pulls the sheet. After some manuevering in the sheets, she looks left and right, scared out of her mind. She whips her head around.In the light, Williams also whips her head around.

Everyone’s faces is shown on the center of the screen several times over. However, towards the end it’s mainly Zedd and Williams who are seen.

The piano begins to shake. Zedd pauses his hands over the keys, ready to play once the ground settles.

The woman performs a leg trick in the family room. In the shadows, the man finds her and cups her chin.

The light blurs Williams’ face.

As smoke swirls around them, the man and woman embrace each other tightly.

Rating: 3/5

The baroque hanging lightbulbs, coupled with Zedd playing the sometimes shaking piano seem to set the video inside an early 20th century mystical home. The light forms its own shape, becoming kaleidoscopic and at times, intrusive. Its strength melts the color of Williams’ hair.

However, the couple, who use modern dance to explain their push-pull relationship, stretch the video in too many directions. The stressful bouncing from couch to couch cuts the beat down into small pieces, dissolving the video’s romantic mysticism out of a need to be up to date.

The willowy ballet in the middle, fraught and urgent, alleviates the tension from the earlier dance. The lore of the home returns to stage as the couple communicate with their intimate movements. When the smoke builds in the background, they seem to be shielding each other from whatever fears that are arriving. The unknown actually becomes real.

Director: Daniel “Cloud’ Campos Year: 2013


Leave a Reply

