George Michael "Too Funky" (1992) - video plot, supermodels, success on the charts
Содержание
"Too Funky" - popular dance George Michael's hitreleased in 1992. The single quickly found its audience and sold more than 1,000 copies. 500,000 copies in the United States, for which he received a gold certification. RIAA. Today he is known not only for his recognisable tune, but also for his music video, which is basically a fashion show! The video has gained over 30 million views on YouTube and a sea of enthusiastic comments. The song itself was never included in any of the artist's studio records, but that didn't stop it from becoming influential and significant today. Nowadays, the song has already taken its place in the ranking of "100 best dance tracks in history" according to the edition of the publication "Slant."! We suggest diving into this entertaining story of how George Michael filmed a fashion show and his music video at the same time.
About the song: the lyrics, the success of the single
"Too Funky" has a simple and even a little primitive lyric referring to sexuality. "I'm not trying to seduce you... Do you want me to seduce you? Is that what you're trying to tell me?" - that line Anne Bancroftknown from the film "The Graduate.", appears in the intro and finale of the song. The hook of the track samples a famous 80s hit "Somebody Else's Guy" by Jocelyn Brown..
The dance tune quickly became a success in a number of countries around the world, especially in Europe. In the UK, the single sold more than 160,000 copieswhereas in America. 500,000! A big hit "Too Funky" became and in Australia: it was one of the most successful tracks ever to break into the ARIA Singles Chart.
Music video: concept, details
"Moulin Rouge meets Vegas" is how critics have characterised the video sequence "Too Funky". The concept of the video is absolute fashion, spiced up with 90's supermodels, fur and leather. In fact, we see a fashion show with a popular New York art-bohemian of those years! Yes, the plot is uncomplicated. However, the picture looks appetising due to the brightness of images and plenty of epatage.
George Michael partially replicated his earlier work "Freedom '90.". The music video for this song also stars some of the top models of the era, including Linda Evangelista и Naomi Campbell. Michael wanted to use the same cast in Too Funky, but the director and costume designer Thierry Mugler said he needed some fresh faces. Therefore, only Linda was left from the "Freedom '90" line-up.
The models in the clip
Nineties are rightly regarded as the golden age of top models! Back then, leading models would not agree to get off the couch for less than a 10,000 dollars! In the clip, George Michael managed to gather popular models who did the job for free. Yes, it's really true. Despite his popularity, at that time Michael had almost no money to pay for the work of the girls. The fact is that he was about to break the contract with the Sony. For this reason, the filming and the show itself were held under the slogan of a charity project: all the money raised went to fight cancer.
In addition to the already mentioned Linda Evangelista, the show featured the participation of Eva Herzigova, Nadia Auermann, Estelle Holliday, Shana Zadrick, Tyra Banks, Beverly Peel и Emma Wiklund. An adorable team of beautiful faces and figures. Actresses also appeared in the clip Julie Newmar и Rossi De Palmaand performance artists Joey Arias и Lipsync.
Interesting facts
From time to time in the clip, the man himself George Michael. He fulfils the role of a cameraman filming the backstage of the show.
When creating costumes for the show. Thierry Mugler has decided to turn his eyes towards bold experimentation! His collection includes fur, leather, transparent lace, rhinestones, latex and even robot costumes with helmets. Each of these looks has influenced contemporary culture in one way or another. For example, Emma Wiklund's costume inspired Lady Gaga for the image for the music video "Paparazzi.".
There are two versions of the clip: the official George Michael and directing Thierry Mugler. The thing is that during the filming these two constantly argued with each other: alas, their views on some things diverged. Another difficulty faced in the process of filming the clip was the budget. Only one million dollars was allocated, which was not enough. But the filming was successfully completed! Some of those present on the set that day remember Mugler literally shaking in nervous hysterics.