Bonnie McKee - Hot City (Official Music Video)

The official music video for “Hot City“ by Bonnie McKee Listen on all platforms I wrote Hot City in Miami 2011, at the height of the golden age of sparkly maximalist pop music. I was carefree, riding the high of co-writing my first global hits on the Teenage Dream album, and finally catching my stride after years of barely getting by as a struggling songwriter. I was at the top of my songwriting game, and always felt like this song was some of my best work, but my label deal fell apart and it never saw the light of day. With the recent resurgence of nostalgia for 2010’s pop, (and a lot of encouragement from my fans!) I decided to crack open the vault and re-record all my old masters of the era, and it’s been extremely gratifying bringing the visuals to life. The Hot City music video is every bit the bright and highly stylized 80’s fever dream I envisioned it to be all those years ago, and I’m elated to finally let it live! I always wanted to write a song about an imaginary destination a la “Funky Town,” “Paradise City” or “Electric Avenue,” because I feel like it’s an evergreen theme-escaping to paradise-that people can bop to 50 years from now. As a kid I was fascinated by the movie trope of “repressed nerd” gone wild. From Michelle Pfeiffer’s transformation from insecure Selina Kyle to kick ass Catwoman in Batman Returns, to virginal Sandra D’s leather jacket “Tell me about it, stud” moment in Grease, there was a thrill and a danger to a woman embracing her sexuality that I found exhilarating. I purposefully didn’t cast a love interest in this video because for me, it was never the male gaze that resulted from these bad girl makeovers that excited me, it was the power and confidence they exuded in their uninhibited state. My hope is that Hot City can allow the listener to escape to a place where they can leave their troubles behind and embrace their inner vixen! DIRECTED BY Joe DeSantis @mrjoedesantis Bonnie Mckee @bonniemckee PRODUCED BY Popeye Media @ Kelsey Tang @kelsotang Jeffrey Wu @moodinfinite Bonnie Mckee @bonniemckee Alex Schindler @lifebetweencakes WRITTEN BY Bonnie McKee @bonniemckee Kelly Sheehan @Madamebuttons Jroc @Jrocthaghost Oliver Goldstein @oligee1 CREATIVE DIRECTION aaro creative @ Taylor Kahan @taylorkahan Spencer Moore @xspencive Bonnie McKee @bonniemckee Brian Ziff @brianziff DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Joe DeSantis @mrjoedesantis Neema Sadeghi @thenamesneema Tanner Deutsch @tannerdeutsch PRODUCTION DESIGN Eamonn McGlynn @eamonnmcglynn Brian Ziff @brianziff Spencer Moore @xspencive Taylor Kahan @taylorkahan Bonnie Mckee @Bonniemckee GAFFER Bryan Lopez @brylololo Austin Deats @austindeats 1ST GRIP Louis Tyrone @mysteryidk David Gonzales @daywatchintv 2ND GRIP Robert Edu @rawsawada 1ST AC Jeffrey Wu @moodinfinite 2ND AC Johnson Nguyen @junseiofficial CHOREOGRAPHY Kathryn Burns @katmburns ASSISTANT CHOREOGRAPHY Darrion Gallegos @darrion_g DANCERS Angel Smith @angelsmith5678 Hope Golida @hopegolida Shanie Blais @shanie_blaisi Chartaja Callum @chartaja1 HAIR Alyssa Champion @alyssachampionhair Aaron Light @lightaaron MAKEUP Lindsey Torres @doc_martins Anthony Nguyen @anthonyhnguyenmakeup HAIR ASSISTANT Brittany Turpen @brittanyyynicole MAKEUP ASSISTANT Caitlin Krenz @caitlinkrenzbeauty WARDROBE/STYLIST Katie Qian @katieqian Allison Calhoun @allisonvictoria COSTUME DESIGN Jim Tanner @jimtannerdesigns STYLIST ASSISTANT Athena Devajm @athenaj.m Valerie Tronolone @valerietronolone COLORIST Jack Caswell @jackcaswell PROJECTION MAPPING RabCup Corp @rabcupcorp AJ Freysteinson @ajfreysteinson DIGITECH Kelsey Tang @kelsotang Dominic Escalante @escalantephoto PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS Max Mineer @ Liya Baloca @naegioli Aya Voe @aya_voe Vanessa De Los Santos @ Alex Schindler @lifebetweencakes John Schmidt @schmidtthethird Job Piston @jobpiston CAR Studio Picture Vehicles @studiopicturevehicles LOCATION Brick House Studios @brickhousestudiosla Hurling Studios @hurlingstudios Follow Bonnie McKee @bonniemckee