Australian songstress Sharl offers an inside look into the creation of her music video for the new single, No Other.
Listeners have so far been treated to a smattering of stellar singles from Sharl’s forthcoming album, Clichés. The Australian singer was enraptured by her own reflection on the disco-pop cut Mirror, before veering towards brooding electronica on July’s Changed Too Much.
Now, the powerhouse vocalist returns with the album’s latest preview, No Other. Brimming with regal air horn sections and slinky R&b production, the single succeeds in whetting appetites for what’s sure to be Sharl’s most exciting album yet.
The anticipation for Sharl’s sophomore effort — a follow-up to 2022’s City Lights — reaches fever pitch, with the music video for No Other arriving Friday 13th!
Taking cues from the Disney princesses who inspired the track’s take on head-over-heels romance, the video traces Sharl’s journey from the real world to a fairytale world, with mesmeric choreography and costuming to boot.
Below, Sharl offers a behind-the-scenes breakdown of the making of No Other’s music video, pulling back the curtain on location scouting, production, and the creative impetus that inspired the visuals.
Catch the singer’s full breakdown below, and scroll down to listen to her new single No Other.
Sharl breaks down the making of the No Other music video.
The video is a nod towards the recent flurry of live action Disney movies, the 100 year anniversary of Disney and the depiction of the princesses as a classic romantic trope and one of the many cliches of portrayals of love!
HAPPY: What was the inspiration behind your latest video?
SHARL: No Other is a song about the head over heels rush of being completely intoxicated by someone. When we were thinking of visual ideas to portray this, fairy tales immediately sprung to mind!
The whole Clichés album is an exploration of different angles and situations within love, acknowledging their potential interpretations as total clichés and stereotypes, yet accepting that they’re all real and valid circumstances that we may find ourselves in during this journey of life.
So for No Other, it was a no brainer that the best way to illustrate both the fairy tale intensity and the clichés aspect was to incorporate Disney princesses, the absolute original romantic tropes!
As Disney fans ourselves, we were really excited to do this and participate in celebrating Disney’s 100 year anniversary with our own homage.
HAPPY: The video presents a unique take on the cliches surrounding portrayals of love. Can you tell us more about the message you wanted to convey through the video?
SHARL: We wanted to convey a celebration of love and depict the depths of passion. However, the video visually focuses on the princess characters – showing their different personas and letting those aspects be the centrepiece rather than being overshadowed by simply showing the moments of love from their individual stories.
HAPPY: The video seems to blend elements of fantasy and reality. How did you approach the creative process in bringing these aspects together?
SHARL: We essentially created two worlds for the video – the real life world in which Sharl resides, and the fantasy world in her head which she imagines throughout. The video effects and transitions, brainchild of the production team, allow us to go seamlessly back and forth between both.
HAPPY: The production design and visual effects are captivating. Can you share some insights into the behind-the-scenes efforts that went into creating this enchanting world?
SHARL: There was a lot of planning! We’re lucky to have so many great places to film in Melbourne, and we spent a lot ot time shortlisting and scouting locations before deciding on the final selections.
As ever, Darius and team did an amazing job with lighting and detailed touches to make the scenes look magical! Daryl Lee elevated the song to new heights with his choreography, combining dramatic Latin flair with flourishes that evoke that classic fairy tale spirit through Ballroom elements.
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SHARL: How do you balance the nostalgia of the video with the need for fresh ideas that challenge stereotypes?
SHARL: The throwback to nostalgia and use of timeless ideas, yet the need to keep pushing boundaries to create something completely new and fresh, is a tension that I believe persists over time across all artforms.
Personally, I like to start my creative process with introspection and originate ideas from within as much as possible.
Inevitably there will be elements influenced by what you’ve seen and heard, but I believe this method allows you to retain a truly individual starting point for the work rather than replicating current or past media.
HAPPY: The video highlights the portrayal of princesses and love in the media. Have you encountered any challenges or surprising reactions while challenging these stereotypes?
SHARL: I encountered surprise from some people when revealing that I chose to incorporate Disney princesses into this music video!
Part of that is because in previous music videos (Changed Too Much, Outside, I Fell In Love), I have portrayed characters who would be perceived as more stereotypically independent and not reliant on love.
Despite being well-known romantic stereotypes, the princesses are much loved characters who endure over time as pop culture icons.
In terms of the music videos for this album, No Other is the perfect juxtaposition against Changed Too Much – a music video for which we created an original story and characters, but also with a fantasy/reality duality that contrasts its total darkness against the positivity of love in No Other.
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HAPPY: Collaborations play a significant role in the video’s success. Can you share your experience working with the creative team to bring your vision to life?
SHARL: I had worked with Darius and Johanna before for the Outside music video, so it was pretty seamless working together again. Central to working together so well is a good shared understanding of the vision that best expresses the music.
We always have a comfortable environment in which we can throw around ideas to collectively come up with the ultimate visual representation of the song.
HAPPY: The video features stunning visuals and costumes reminiscent of classic fairytales. How did you work with the costume and makeup departments to capture the essence of your vision?
SHARL: This was a really fun and integral part of the planning process! We wanted to capture the essence of the princesses in a way which would be instantly recognisable as the characters. However, we wanted a modern fashion-forward look rather than anything too traditional, in keeping with my style as an artist.
We played with accessories to elevate the costumes and stuck to the bright colour palette which pops against the stunning backdrops of the buildings in the night scenes and nature in the day time.
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HAPPY: The video’s cinematography and direction are exceptional. Can you share any memorable experiences or challenges you encountered during the filming process?
SHARL: The Melbourne weather is always a challenge! Most memorable was not knowing until the last hour whether we should reschedule for some of the scenes and it’s actually lightly raining during a few of them!
HAPPY: What’s next for you and your creative endeavours? Can we expect more thought-provoking and visually stunning work in the near future?
SHARL: I hope so! Music has been a continuous journey of evolution as an artist which I look forward to keep being on for as long as I feel inspired.
It’s a pleasure to be able to express my emotions and ideas through this medium and I enjoy developing and pushing myself further with each project.
I have a lot of sounds which I wish to explore further in future songs, so I hope to write and release some great fresh tracks once this album is out!
Sharl’s sophomore album Clichés is set for release in November.
