Tessa Violet – I Like (the idea of) You
2019 · Directed by Jade Ehlers
253K Likes
Best comments
1.“I lowkey feel like I'm watching an '80s exercise video.”
More comments
- 2.“Ah, yes. Sweaters and nylons. My true sexuality.”
- 3.“I once told a girl she doesn't like me, just the idea of me. We'll have been married 15 years this Valentine's Day. Ideas can last a long freaking time.”
The story
Tessa Violet started on YouTube in 2006 as Meekakitty, vlogged her way through modeling gigs in Hong Kong and Thailand, and eventually turned into a Nashville pop singer. She wrote this one about a guy she was seeing who wasn't all that into her. Instead of feeling embarrassed about the crush, she said it made her feel sexy and powerful. That's the whole song: knowing it's a bad idea and enjoying it anyway.
The video is a straight-up homage to Nancy Sinatra's These Boots Are Made for Walkin' from 1966. Director Jade Ehlers put Tessa in a canary-yellow bob with a line of dancers behind her, mixing 1960s mod glamour with Olivia Newton-John-era dancercise. Kayla Kalbfleisch did the choreography.
Fun part: Tessa's managers weren't sure she could dance. She went fully choreographed anyway so she wouldn't freeze on camera. After day one the routine didn't feel like her, so Kalbfleisch rewrote the whole thing for day two, and a mix-up with Ehlers put way more dancing in the final cut than she planned. Now she says she'd like to dance again. Bad ideas, good results.
