How Music Video Director Grant Singer Is Redefining the Art Form

If you’ve watched any major pop music videos in the last five years, chances are you’ve experienced the visual feast that is the work of director Grant Singer.

His career took off in 2013 when he directed the short indie film IRL starring a young Sky Ferreira, after which they moved in together and became frequent collaborators. The following year he directed the video for her single “Everything Is Embarrassing,” opening the doors to work for some of the most influential musicians of today. His list of clients now includes pop royalty The Weeknd (“The Hills,” “Starboy,” and “Can’t Feel My Face”) Lorde (“Green Light, “Perfect Places”) as well as Taylor Swift and ZAYN for their 50 Shades collaboration, “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever.” Other collaborators include Ariana Grande, Future, Vic Mensa and Kanye West, Travis Scott, Young Thug, and most recently Troye Sivan for his hit single “My My My!” Talk about a fire resume.

In a short amount of time, Singer has managed to have a huge impact on the music video aesthetic, becoming known for setting moody scenery and placing the artists at the center of an almost sinister melodrama. In 2016, he was awarded the European MTV Music Video Award for Video of the Year for The Weeknd and Daft Punk’s “Starboy,” was nominated for several MTV Music Video Awards, and was selected for the Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors Showcase at the Cannes Lions festival.

The secret to his astonishing growth could be the genuine connections that he likes to make with the artists. “I usually get to know them on a personal level somewhat before we start working together,” he says. “When you connect on a level that’s unpretentious and just about our basic human longing and fears, I think that’s the best place to start.”