The song “Apologize” by OneRepublic has long been killed by the radio and will probably never be erased from our heads, but there’s one reason why I need to bring them up again:
Their official music video is flat out horrible.
It’s a bland, utterly uninspired “performance piece” which just showcases the band playing in a studio and Timbaland hittin’ some switches (oh and lest I forget the utterly nonsensical New Years subplot). If you just read this last sentence, you don’t even need to click play cause you’ve already seen it. There’s absolutely nothing to it.
Which is why it’s all the more shocking when you check out the original music video, before the record deal and before Timbaland:
Now this is a music video. Filled with depth and such stark images that not only emote, but resonate. When you watch this you’re not thinking, “Oh are boy bands making a comeback?” Instead, you’re busy getting lost in the beautiful shots revolving in front of you.
These ornate and delicate objects tell a story of a relationship that was once pure. Then ink (or is it blood?) begins to slowly taint the figures, right before the final chorus swells up and violently destroys everything that was once pristine.
Original, moving, and so wonderfully executed. This was everything that the “official” video wasn’t.
So why did they ditch the original for the uninspired “official” mess?
Well it might’ve been because the original was never actually a real OneRepublic video in the first place. Yup, it was created by cinematographer Aaron Platt for a OneRepublic contest (and even then, it only won runner-up).
But still, how in the hell did they not choose Platt’s video over the “official” one? I believe there’s one simple explanation:
The label wanted a standard “performance piece” that had zero creativity but featured the band members (and big Timb himself) in every single shot because they needed to introduce these “smoldering dreamboats” into the eyes (and wallets) of millions of pre-teen girls. That’s it. Strike a blow to creative artistry.
But artists, fear not, for there is a happy ending to this story. Since OneRepublic hit it big, Aaron Platt’s video has racked up over 100 million hits worldwide, trouncing the “official” video which is lagging behind at a (relatively) meager 18 million. So I don’t care what the record label says, the internet has clearly spoken: Aaron Platt’s inspired creation is OneRepublic’s official “unofficial” music video, whether they like it or not.
