Khalil Fong and the Lost Art of the Music Video

Throughout my time as a blogger for Arts at Michigan, I’ve talked about music in various ways – through concerts, through single releases, and through innovative lyrics that I find fascinating.

However, I have shied away from the topic of the music video, mostly because, to me, the issue is complex. I really enjoy music videos – I think they can add an interesting component to a song, and I often think of music video scenarios when I listen to songs that don’t have music videos.

But unfortunately, due to an overwhelming number of bad music videos throughout the years, I rarely ever seek out a music video to watch. If something comes up on my radar, through Facebook or some other social media, then sure, if it’s an artist I like, I’ll check it out. But honestly, I don’t like many music videos that I see anymore. I think they can provide a great opportunity to make something great and artistic, and yet most artists (or rather their companies) squander that gift.

But even though I don’t watch many American music videos, I enjoy watching kpop (read: Korean pop) music videos. In that genre, music videos are considered one of the most important aspects of that artists work, and thus many companies spend much time and effort into creating something that is visually appealing and entertaining, and while they aren’t all gems, a lot of them do come out being pretty good, in a way that I haven’t seen in American music videos in a long time. Because of this, though, I’ve watched more music videos this year than I have in the past.

Which brings me to the main point of this whole spiel, which is Khalil Fong.

A friend of mine showed me Khalil Fong a little while back early in the fall semester. She told me that he has an amazing voice and I should listen to him. She also told me that he sings in Mandarin. So alright, I already listen to Korean music, why not Mandarin? So I listened.

Instantly I was blown away by this man’s voice. With a perfect blend of pop, R&B, and jazz, Khalil creates a genre that is almost his own. No matter what he sings out of the three, whether it be a slow ballad with a full violin section, or an upbeat dance tune with a vintage-40s feel, his voice matches it perfectly.

Now, as a college student, I must say I’m very busy, and very bad about keeping up with artists. So when my Spotify told me that Khalil had a new song out, I didn’t listen right away even though I dearly love his music. But this weekend I took the time to listen to his new single 危險世界, which translates to “Dangerous World.” At first, my plan was to listen to a lot of different music that I’ve missed throughout the semester that has been collecting dust on my Spotify playlist. But I couldn’t listen to anything else after I heard – and saw – “Dangerous World.”

First off, this song. While it strays a bit from his pop/ballad roots (most of his songs are slow, easy going love songs), this single is pure gold. It has a distinct, 80s era Michael Jackson feel, but instead of making the song feel retro, vintage, or a copy, he adds in a futuristic, contemporary element that makes it feel like this song is the dangerous world. I honestly have been listening to nothing but this song for the past four days. It has an addictive bass and downbeat that always makes me want to dance, and every time he sings no no no no no, almost going into falsetto, interrupting the pre-chorus and launching straight into the next verse, I feel a small chill run down my spine. The song ends with an elaborately constructed breakdown, which feels like a reinvented dubstep beat until you hear the beautiful violins playing over the random noises and resounding bass. Overall, this song is amazing and I don’t care if you don’t understand him, you need to listen to it.

But the song isn’t it. Khalil also directed the music video, an elaborate 8 minute masterpiece involving gas masks, flying trains, revolutions, an elaborate kung fu sequence worthy of Jackie Chan, and an incredible blend of traditional Chinese dress and steampunk fashion. After finishing the video, I was left wondering what in the world I just watched, and wanted more. I’ve now watched the video multiple times, even though I already know the “surprise” at the end (which I won’t spoil for you). And thus, I’ve come to question what makes me love it so much.

Is it the cinematography? The compelling story that I don’t quite understand? Is it the myriad of scenes that create convincing and interesting settings for me to watch? I don’t know the answer, but I do know that I want to share this video with anyone who is willing to watch it, and hopefully they’ll like it just as much as I do.

Khalil’s full album Dangerous World will be out April 11. You can pre-order it on iTunes here, which automatically comes with three songs, Dangerous World, Xiao Fang, and Lights Up, his single sung entirely in English.

Also if you watch the video and are extremely confused and would like to discuss theories please comment and I will share my ridiculous and by no means correct theory on what the music video’s plot is.