With their duet on “I’m Ready,” pop superstars Sam Smith and Demi Lovato hoped to lift fans’ spirits in dark times. Now, the two are giving those same fans a look at what went into making the track’s stunning music video.
On Wednesday (May 6), the pair released an official behind-the-scenes look at the “I’m Ready” video, documenting what the two were aiming to create with their Olympic-themed visual. Throughout the clip, director Jora Frantzis walks fans through the vision of the video, which she says centered around reclaiming a space for queer people everywhere.
“For a lot of the gay community, sports was always kind of a traumatizing experience in high school,” she explained. “So Sam thought it would be very empowering to kind of take over high school sports in the way that we did, and almost kind of taking the power back.”
Frantzis continued to explain the choice of each “event” shown, including Smith’s wrestling match for the “dark and sexy” verse, Lovato’s diving session alongside some fabulous synchronized swimmers and even Smith’s track race with a group of drag queens. “That was a long day, I don’t think I’ve ever worked that hard,” Smith says in a clip from the first day of shooting. “I think that last shot, my dreams came true, for sure.”
In another clip, Rory Gory and Shane Michael Singh from The Trevor Project applauded Smith for their dedication toward promoting and celebrating the LGBTQ community. “We actually have LGBTQ people behind the scenes, in front of the camera, creating the content themselves,” Gory said. “That’s when it feels really authentic and real.”
Perhaps Smith said it best as he spoke to Lovato in one clip — “[It’s] a queer Olympics … I think we’ve actually made the gayest video of all time,” they proclaim, as Lovato agrees with a cheerful “Yes!”
Check out the full behind-the-scenes look at “I’m Ready” below:
Via: Billboard