When you're trying to catch your crush's eye, it's good to have a teammate by your side — especially if you're simultaneously navigating the social jungle that is high school. How else will you overcome awkward run-ins by the lockers or cafeteria food embarrassments? The video for British electro-pop artist Shura's latest single, "What's It Gonna Be," attests to this power of crush-attaining collaboration, following the singer and her twin brother as they team up to get their respective crushes' attention. It's replete with kitschy-sweet moments of teen affection: longing gazes in the science lab, distraction in the hallway, stolen kisses in the auditorium. Between bouts of goofing off on bicycles and lying on their backs in the grass, the two innocently plot and scheme to help each other make contact with their sweethearts.
Shura's music seems to radiate and sparkle with infectious romantic energy; even her songs about frustration and heartbreak make you want to both dance and hold hands with the person sitting next to you. "What's It Gonna Be" is no exception; it's a high-energy plea to a crush to be honest about whether the affection is mutual, and its '80s-tinged synth-pop sound matches the colorful, youthful aesthetic of the video, directed by Chloe Wallace.
In an email to NPR, Shura explained that her vision for the video was "something ... that could stand alongside a John Hughes movie, but condensed into three and a half minutes." She says they aimed to use archetypical characters — The Jock, The Popular Girl, The Dork — but flip viewers' expectations. The video's triumphant end, with Shura's girl by her side and her brother's guy by his, playfully winks at these reference points, and puts an LGBT twist on the teen classics to which it nods.
"What's It Gonna Be" is from Shura's new album, Nothing's Real, due out July 8.
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