The first time that we heard Durand Bernarr’s “AM I OKAY?!,” the second single from his latest effort BERNARR., it was outside of the context of the album. But now that we’ve since received the album in full, the song has grown on us even more. That’s because it truly speaks to the many societal anxieties we all have while also revealing a vulnerable side of himself as his profile grows. Now he’s tapping even deeper into his psyche as he visits the therapist’s couch for the song’s video.
The visual begins with Durand literally lying on the couch as he gets a few things off his chest. “It’s not easy being everything for everybody,” he says before going on to mention how the expectations put upon him seem to be weighing him down. It’s a great way to lead into the song as he deals with his feelings and the multiple lives he feels he’s expected to lead.
From there, the video shows us the singer pulling multiple ’fits against different backdrops. These scenes and outfit changes seem to represent different facets of himself. These include a number he dons as the walls of a room seemingly close in on him, another tightly wrapped white outfit draped on a version of himself that can’t seem to stop crying and a spiky metallic look he wears as he unleashes his rage on fragile objects inside a brightly lit room.
The most important outfit he wears in the clip, though, happens to be an angular blue masterpiece that we don’t see as much of as the others. That’s because it is worn by the version of himself that plays the role of therapist as he listens to all the things Durand is feeling and allows him the space to feel safe in saying them out loud.
There’s no clean, happy ending for “AM I OKAY?!,” which perhaps mirrors life the most. We have a sneaking suspicion, though, that recording this song and filming the video probably proved to be a cathartic experience for the singer.
Watch Durand Bernarr confront himself and work through his issues when you press play.
