It’s a beautiful fall day in Murfreesboro, Tenn., on the set of Dustin Lynch’s video shoot for “Seein’ Red.” Between takes, Dustin takes a break on his tour bus as his crew sets up for the performance segment of the video.
“It’s a lot of hurry up and wait, really,” Dustin tells Nash Country Daily as we sit down in the comfort of his bus to talk about the new video. “Hair, makeup. Change this, change that—a lot of changing. It’s like trying on clothes all day. It’s great to have the bus here. We’ll just chill out.”
Don’t be fooled. Dustin has put a lot of hard work into making his video for “Seein’ Red” and is very involved in all aspects of the pre-production and post-production of the project. “I want music videos to take the viewer, including myself, on a trip that we didn’t think about or a visual that’s cool,” says Dustin. “Make somebody want to watch the video more than once, that’s always the goal. I think we’re going to do that with this video.
“From step one, it’s me figuring out which treatment I want to shoot and then with what director,” the Tennessee native adds. “Kind of sitting down with [the director] and hashing out how the performance is going to happen, how I want it to look, what colors I want the video to be in and all this stuff. We had a lot of inspiration. It’s fun to pull elements from other videos that [director Adam Rothlein and I] are fans of. I think I’m going to be really happy with what we end up with.”
Because of its “infectious, out there kind of grove” Dustin was drawn to the song—something that musically is far from what he has released in the past. “I think that combined with a sexy lyric is just magic for me,” adds Dustin.
“Seein’ Red” is about a girl you just can’t get out of your head, which could lend itself to different visual interpretations. But Dustin’s vision took him in a sexy new direction. The video, directed by Adam Rothlein, was filmed—in part—in a spacious warehouse building in Murfreesboro. White walls surrounded Dustin and his band as they ran through performances of the song over and over again.
“This song really allows me to go for it,” says Dustin. “We could’ve gone super literal with it, but decided to capture just how sexy and, for lack of a better word, badass this song is. Visually it’s going to be pretty intense. It’s going to be hot and steamy, but also it’s going to be a performance piece where me and the band guys, we get to rock out. Really, it’s us performing to my conscience. To my imagination—whether it’s a young lady that I’ve had relations with or maybe somebody I’m dreaming of having a relationship with. We’re inside of my head and me and the band are, in a sense, performing to that visual. Then that visual completely encompasses us as the video continues on.”
Dustin’s career has been red-hot as of late, with three consecutive No. 1 singles—”Where It’s At (Yep,Yep),” “Hell of a Night” and “Mind Reader”—and hoping for a fourth with “Seein’ Red.” It’s no wonder his latest video will be steaming up your televisions screens.
“I’m playing lead in the acting role too. In my conscience, it’s me and my leading lady—her name is Yoli. It’s always fun on these sets because we knew each other for about 90 seconds before the director goes, “Ok, sit on his lap and y’all start kissing.” It’s a funny thing because you’re instantly into each other and have 40 people staring at you. Then between takes, that’s when we actually get to know each other. It’s like we actually get to have conversation and ask where each other are from, and all this and that.”
That’s all in a day’s work for Dustin, as he’s had to get intimate with love interests before, on such videos as “Mind Reader” and “Where It’s At.” But “Seein’ Red” takes it one step further and is just the beginning of what’s to come for Dustin as he continues putting the finishing touches on his upcoming third studio album.
“I think ‘Seein’ Red’ really encompasses what this next album is going to be,” says Dustin. “As I go in to finish it up in the next few months, hopefully, I take a step back and it is very relationship heavy. It’s about trying on love, being in love, falling out of love and hating love—the whole cycle of relationships. This album really is going to be a lot more personal as far as my life goes. It’s a very sexy album too—very hot, very steamy. Between that and just trying to hone in on some fun too. I’m having so much fun with life right now, making music and traveling around. Getting to do life with a lot of new people. It’s a bit of all of that. I would say a very fun but sexy and hot and steamy album all at the same time.”
Count us in.
