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Ingrid Michaelson's New Queer Video Was Inspired by Stranger Things
For her new single "Missing You," Michaelson "wanted the lyric video to be open to interpretation in terms of sexuality," she told PRIDE.
With the release of Stranger Songs, her latest album inspired by the Netflix's thrilling sci-fi adventure series Stranger Things, beloved indie-pop musician Ingrid Michaelson is debuting the very queer graphic novel music video for her latest single, "Missing You" exclusively with PRIDE.
The track "was inspired by the love triangle between Nancy, Johnathan, and Steve in the show Stranger Things," Michaelson told PRIDE.
"Missing You" tells the story of someone trying to move on from unrequited love. But even when they're in bed with someone else, their feelings for the first guy still haunts them. "When he's kissing me, I'm missing you," Michaelson sings as the main character stares up at the ceiling.
Drawn by Kevin Wada, an Asian-American watercolor painter and comics artist, the gender of the main character is purposefully ambiguous, so anyone can imagine themselves in that position.
Michaelson wanted it "to be open to interpretation in terms of sexuality," she explains. "I wanted to open the song up to everyone’s experience. Kevin Wada is such an amazing artist and truly brought the song into its own world."
Wada has previously worked on comics like Marvel's Scarlet Witch and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Wada says the story for "Missing You" came together after listening to the track.
"The beginning beats of the song captured me immediately," Wada explained. "The song has this deliciously slow build that by the time the chorus blasts off ("You're in my head again") you feel like you're taking a ride through the map of someone's memories. Zipping through the connection of a phone cord as two friends relive their almost-romantic history came to me almost immediately—phone cord in '80s hot pink, of course."
Watch the graphic novel lyric video for "Missing You" below.
Taylor Henderson is a PRIDE.com contributor. This proud Texas Bama studied Media Production/Studies and Sociology at The University of Texas at Austin, where he developed his passions for pop culture, writing, and videography. He's absolutely obsessed with Beyoncé, mangoes, and cheesy YA novels that allow him to vicariously experience the teen years he spent in the closet. He's also writing one!
Taylor Henderson is a PRIDE.com contributor. This proud Texas Bama studied Media Production/Studies and Sociology at The University of Texas at Austin, where he developed his passions for pop culture, writing, and videography. He's absolutely obsessed with Beyoncé, mangoes, and cheesy YA novels that allow him to vicariously experience the teen years he spent in the closet. He's also writing one!
