Republic Records/Sarah PiantadosiAccording to James Bay, the video for his latest single, “Pink Lemonade,” was inspired by something that happened when he just four years old.
The clip mixes footage of James — who’s wearing a sparkly, sequined top — performing with his band, with scenes of him dressing up in a space suit in the middle of the night and sneaking out to the garage while his parents sleep. There, he finds a homemade space capsule, and after doing some calculations on a nearby laptop, he climbs in and prepares to blast off. The clip concludes with footage of a little boy sitting in a garage inside a box covered with tinfoil.
In a statement, James says, “The inspiration behind the video comes from the theme of escape that runs through the song. I was reminded of a time when I was a about four years old and I told my parents I’d had enough of living with them and would be leaving home.”
He continues, “Obviously, I never went through with it, but the drama of filling a pillow case with my most essential toys, opening the backdoor and announcing to the kitchen that it was time for me to leave is what gave me the idea for the video.”
James adds that he “adapted it to add the spaceship part because I thought it would look better than a pillow case,” noting, “I wanted to do something that felt serious but silly at the same time.”
“From that diamond-encrusted top to building my own spaceship, I’m not sure making a video will ever get any better,” laughs James.
“Pink Lemonade” is from James’ second album, Electric Light, which is due May 18.
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