Madison Beer channels a gritty mix of The Matrix, Black Widow, and 8-bit fighting video games in the action-packed music video for her freshman album’s debut single, “Good in Goodbye.”
In an interview with Zach Sang, Beer explains how she always prioritizes heavy visuals in her music and maintaining her creative independence when starting off her album campaign. Frustrated that her concepts were always “watered down a bit” in the hands of other directors, she took control of this music video and wrote, directed, edited and starred in it.
While “Good in Goodbye '' is a breakup power anthem, Beer’s video holds no traces of the toxic ex-boyfriend she’s leaving behind. In one of the teaser videos counting down to the single’s release, Beer sits nervously in a sterile, white lab room with a uniform that spells out “Life Support” (a reference to her album’s title) while a female scientist describes her upcoming mental simulation.
“I created this place to ease the logic of that right brain and the emotions of the left,” the scientist smiles with overbearing enthusiasm. “Let’s see which side is stronger.”
In the video, Beer’s right brain and left brain manifests into two distinctive personalities that battle in a world of rubbles for dominance, which perhaps mirrors one’s mental turmoil after ending things with someone (and this relationship doesn’t have to be specifically romantic, Beer emphasized in her interview with Sang).
Shot almost all against a green screen, the special effects and editing support Beer’s wish to translate a video game into a music video. Set in an apocalyptic landscape, the two personalities have pixelated texts and icons that indicate each individual’s health bar and advancing stages as their fight continues. Electricity and light beams reminiscent of superhero comic panels crackle and zoom across the screen to represent the impact and reaction of each hit, punch and kick.
As the song reaches its climax before the final verse, the two Madisons fly into the galaxy and float directly across each other on a blinding line of light, with the earth left a mess of fiery orange to the left of them. This gorgeous sequence blends into their landing on the moon where they tackle each other with renewed fury and an accompanying backflip.
Beer confessed in her Zach Sang interview that she did “too many” of her stunts in the “Good in Goodbye” music video. Her behind-the-scenes VFX breakdown video shows the singer performing fight choreography in an elevating harness, jumping sideways off a stunt car and executing a forward roll and a back flip. Beer said her decision came from maintaining an air of authenticity to her audience and her own private enjoyment.
As the simulation concludes along with the song, the two Madisons recognize the consequences of their ruthless fighting as two dramatic shots frame the burning earth in their pupils. While the song ends on one of Beer’s smoky runs, they make peace and sit cross-legged side-by-side as a cheeky side bar indicates the maximum level of destruction they caused on the planet.
In an article with DiscoverNü, Beer said the music video “touches on the duality of condemnation and self-reflection you often go through at the end of a relationship.” Following this theory, the two personalities finally mend their broken hearts by coming together, symbolizing that logic and emotions are both necessary in severing a toxic relationship.
The twenty-year-old’s debut album, “Life Support,” will be released this year.
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