Griffin Tucker – Light It Up (2018)

Young artist, Griffin Tucker, released his debut album, Believe It, this year with the headlining track, ‘Light It Up‘.  The song was so popular that Tucker and his team decided a video was needed to support the epic song.  Tucker started his career at the age of eight, and in only eight years he has achieved what most people would hope to in a lifetime.  Before breaking down the video, I want to discuss the song itself.

Tucker has presented a classic rock song that is simple but brilliant. The way he uses the lyrics and instruments to sell his song is so attractive to me that I could listen to this track all day on repeat.  My interpretation of the song was that he is addicted to music when he discovered it; he found a way to express himself through it which is seen throughout the song.  I like the way beat and tune are carried through the entire song, and I feel as though it is at the forefront of the song.  It has the ability to say, I understand music and this is what I can do with it.

Now to the video.  For me the video didn’t do the song any justice; in fact, I think it did the opposite.  The way he was superimposed into the foreground of the video ruins the authenticity of the song and presents him in an awkward light.  He has the talent, but the video hid that from the viewers which is a shame.  He seems as though he doesn’t know what to do in front of the camera, which I think contradicts the song and the message he wanted the song to deliver.  However, I did like the camera work and I think that might’ve been the video’s saving grace.

At the beginning of the video, I was intrigued by the camera panning across the title and the musicians, only to be let down when I saw a superimposed Griffin Tucker for the rest of the video.  For me, seeing the video and hearing the song for the first time together, I wasn’t a fan; but, after listening to the song alone, I realised I actually enjoyed it.  I can see why the song was such a hit, but I think the introduction of a video ruined the image he was trying to create with ‘Light It Up’.