Country newcomer Renee Blair has one of those voices that makes her sound like she’s not a newcomer at all. It sounds more like she’s been at this for a while. It just comes naturally to Blair, and you can hear that in every lyric she writes and every song she sings.
And with infuences from the Dixie Chicks and Gretchen Wilson to Nelly and Justin Timberlake, the result is a fresh take on her genre-blending kind of country.
Her brand new video for “Girlfriend” is the perfect example. Here’s what Blair told CMT.com about the story that comes to life in the tune.
CMT.com: What do you remember most about the day you shot this video?
Blair: We were shooting the cover shot, and wanted to get some behind-the-scenes video footage. And it turned into the music video. I had so much fun dancing and singing along to the song and the lighting was so cool. We knew we were onto something. I love how this organically came together and shows my personality more than a formal video.
How does the video bring your song to life?
I’d like to think that I was flirting with the camera, as if it was the imaginary “guy with a girlfriend.” As if I was trying to show him how much fun it would be if we were together.
What message do you hope your fans take away from the video?
I believe that music is meant to take you to another place, and help all of your worries disappear if only for a fleeting moment. So I hope the video just makes people want to crank their speakers up and dance around just like I’m doing.
How did it feel to see the finished product for the first time?
Like I need to dance and be silly way more often. Shooting this video was definitely one of the more fun things I’ve done with one of my songs thus far. And I remember laughing to myself and the crew who shot the video saying, “If Shania (Twain) came out in 2019, I hope this is what she’d want her video to look like.” In reality, maybe she’d never pick a black and white video for a vibrant song like this, but I’d watch her videos on CMT as a little girl dying to look as cool as her. So when I first saw this video and I thought it looked “cool,” I couldn’t stop smiling all day, from ear to ear.