Philly phenom Pink Sweat$ has released a music video for the song “Real Thing,” taken from his critically acclaimed Pink Moon album. For “Real Thing” Pink teams up with the talented singer-songwriter Tori Kelly to create a ballad that is sure to be played at plenty of weddings.
Many of Pink Sweat$’s songs leverage minimal instrumentation to allow his voice to shine, and “Real Thing” is no different. A little acoustic guitar, an oh-so-light drum beat to keep time and some timely keyboards work well when paired with Pink and Tori’s stellar vocals. This collaboration really works because of the natural harmony between Sweat$ and Kelly as they alternate between singing solo and together in various parts of the song.
The video for “Real Thing” is directed by Courtney Loo and David Karp, two of the principals from Thrice Cooked Media, the group that manages Pink Sweat$ and KIRBY. The clip begins with Pink Sweat$ and his love interest on the video set as she lounges with her head on the floor and her legs resting up against a makeshift pink wall. At the same time, Pink is painting that wall red with a roller brush, and the floor is a red and white checkered pattern.
True fans of Pink will also notice that he has swapped out his trademark pink pants and yellow sweater for red pants and a red sweater (his love interest is also wearing a red sweater). The symbolism of the color red is not lost here; love, romance and passion fill the room. Right before Pink begins to sing the first verse, the camera focuses for a few seconds on the lady’s pink shoes, confirming who her heart belongs to.
The visual shows some tender moments between Pink and his lady before switching to a behind-the-scenes theme as Pink prepares to do a video shoot with Tori. She sits in the room opposite Pink as they wait for filming to begin. A makeup artist and stylist finish their work while Pink and Tori team up to sing the chorus. Tori then delivers the second verse, first seen on a monitor, then on set as the camera pans out to a wider angle. The video closes out with Pink and Tori singing the chorus as we see several clips of the lovestruck couple spending more quality time together.
The cinematography in this video is stellar, with a nice mix of rich colors and black and white footage. The behind-the-scenes coverage is a nice touch, as it makes the viewer feel like they are part of that experience.
"Real Thing" is the first of what we hope is many collaborations between Pink Sweat$ and Tori Kelly. Watch their sweet music video below.
