Bonnie McKee - Hot City (Official Music Video)
The official music video for "Hot City" by Bonnie McKee
Listen on all platforms
https://bonniemckee.ffm.to/hotcity
I wrote Hot City in Miami 2011, at the height of the golden age of sparkly maximalist pop music. I was carefree, riding the high of co-writing my first global hits on the Teenage Dream album, and finally catching my stride after years of barely getting by as a struggling songwriter. I was at the top of my songwriting game, and always felt like this song was some of my best work, but my label deal fell apart and it never saw the light of day. With the recent resurgence of nostalgia for 2010’s pop, (and a lot of encouragement from my fans!) I decided to crack open the vault and re-record all my old masters of the era, and it’s been extremely gratifying bringing the visuals to life. The Hot City music video is every bit the bright and highly stylized 80’s fever dream I envisioned it to be all those years ago, and I’m elated to finally let it live!
I always wanted to write a song about an imaginary destination a la “Funky Town,” “Paradise City” or “Electric Avenue,” because I feel like it’s an evergreen theme-escaping to paradise-that people can bop to 50 years from now.
As a kid I was fascinated by the movie trope of “repressed nerd” gone wild. From Michelle Pfeiffer’s transformation from insecure Selina Kyle to kick ass Catwoman in Batman Returns, to virginal Sandra D’s leather jacket “Tell me about it, stud” moment in Grease, there was a thrill and a danger to a woman embracing her sexuality that I found exhilarating. I purposefully didn’t cast a love interest in this video because for me, it was never the male gaze that resulted from these bad girl makeovers that excited me, it was the power and confidence they exuded in their uninhibited state. My hope is that Hot City can allow the listener to escape to a place where they can leave their troubles behind and embrace their inner vixen!
DIRECTED BY
Joe DeSantis @mrjoedesantis
Bonnie Mckee @bonniemckee
PRODUCED BY
Popeye Media @popeyemedia.la
Kelsey Tang @kelsotang
Jeffrey Wu @moodinfinite
Bonnie Mckee @bonniemckee
Alex Schindler @lifebetweencakes
WRITTEN BY
Bonnie McKee @bonniemckee
Kelly Sheehan @Madamebuttons
Jroc @Jrocthaghost
Oliver Goldstein @oligee1
CREATIVE DIRECTION
aaro creative @aaro.creative
Taylor Kahan @taylorkahan
Spencer Moore @xspencive
Bonnie McKee @bonniemckee
Brian Ziff @brianziff
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Joe DeSantis @mrjoedesantis
Neema Sadeghi @thenamesneema
Tanner Deutsch @tannerdeutsch
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Eamonn McGlynn @eamonnmcglynn
Brian Ziff @brianziff
Spencer Moore @xspencive
Taylor Kahan @taylorkahan
Bonnie Mckee @Bonniemckee
GAFFER
Bryan Lopez @brylololo
Austin Deats @austindeats
1ST GRIP
Louis Tyrone @mysteryidk
David Gonzales @daywatchintv
2ND GRIP
Robert Edu @rawsawada
1ST AC
Jeffrey Wu @moodinfinite
2ND AC
Johnson Nguyen @junseiofficial
CHOREOGRAPHY
Kathryn Burns @katmburns
ASSISTANT CHOREOGRAPHY
Darrion Gallegos @darrion_g
DANCERS
Angel Smith @angelsmith5678
Hope Golida @hopegolida
Shanie Blais @shanie_blaisi
Chartaja Callum @chartaja1
HAIR
Alyssa Champion @alyssachampionhair
Aaron Light @lightaaron
MAKEUP
Lindsey Torres @doc_martins
Anthony Nguyen @anthonyhnguyenmakeup
HAIR ASSISTANT
Brittany Turpen @brittanyyynicole
MAKEUP ASSISTANT
Caitlin Krenz @caitlinkrenzbeauty
WARDROBE/STYLIST
Katie Qian @katieqian
Allison Calhoun @allisonvictoria
COSTUME DESIGN
Jim Tanner @jimtannerdesigns
STYLIST ASSISTANT
Athena Devajm @athenaj.m
Valerie Tronolone @valerietronolone
COLORIST
Jack Caswell @jackcaswell
PROJECTION MAPPING
RabCup Corp @rabcupcorp
AJ Freysteinson @ajfreysteinson
DIGITECH
Kelsey Tang @kelsotang
Dominic Escalante @escalantephoto
PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS
Max Mineer @max.mineer
Liya Baloca @naegioli
Aya Voe @aya_voe
Vanessa De Los Santos @dls.vanessa
Alex Schindler @lifebetweencakes
John Schmidt @schmidtthethird
Job Piston @jobpiston
CAR
Studio Picture Vehicles @studiopicturevehicles
LOCATION
Brick House Studios @brickhousestudiosla
Hurling Studios @hurlingstudios
Follow Bonnie McKee
https://tiktok.com/@bonniemckee
https://instagram.com/bonniemckee
https://twitter.com/bonniemckee
https://facebook.com/bonniemckeeofficial
https://open.spotify.com/artis....t/7dtJROxWQe3fxxF5t7
https://music.apple.com/us/art....ist/bonnie-mckee/385