Courtney Stodden is launching her music career. If you think that that"s funny, then you"ve clearly never heard her sing.
Some of her past projects were a little over-the-top (though we"ll always have a place in our hearts for "Asphalt"), but her new music is serious.
Now she has a music video out. This one is haunting, beautiful, and deeply bizarre. And you can watch it below.
Under her new persona, Ember, Courtney Stodden has graced us with three new singles.
"Pink Flamingo" and "Me Too" are pop.
The former has some clear EDM influences and some entrancing qualities.
"Me Too" has a topical title, but before you accuse her of titling it in poor taste, remember that Courtney Stodden has shared two stories of sexual assault.
This is very much her heartbreaking story to tell.
You can find both of those songs here on iTunes, where you can also find the song "For You."
And "For You" has its very own music video.
The music video"s opening isn"t the strongest. She speaks in a British accent, giving the intro an almost fairytale quality.
At times, her singing reminds us a bit of Blondie.
Part of that may be this particular song"s musical elements. She doesn"t somehow resemble the entire band.
At other times, between the filters employed and the wig and the singing itself, we get some very genuine Lana Del Rey vibes.
In these moments, the similarity is primarily visual.
There"s this powerful retro quality with some intense witchy vibes, and we"re here for it.
Bits of Japanese kanji appear on the screen from time to time.
Courtney — or Ember — lounges in a robe in the grass, or lays out in a skimpy white outfit to soak up a little sun.
(Yes, Courtney is famous for her body, so she"s not exactly wearing a nun"s habit for the video)
Later, things take a turn for the psychedelic.
We see her in purple with red eyes, but the vision is distorted. it"s an interesting effect.
Eventually (and yes, this is a spoiler, so spoiler alert), we see that she has been singing to herself all along.
Well, singing to her open casket.
(Or is this Ember singing to Courtney? I"ve never watched Hannah Montana, but the alter ego thing seems complicated)
The launch of her (serious) music career could be seen as Courtney"s rebirth as Ember.
Ember, of course, is evocative of fire imagery. Phoenixes are reborn in flames, and there is nothing more symbolic of rebirth than a phoenix.
We don"t know how much of that is intentional and how much the serindipidous symbolism just fell together (sometimes it"s like that), but we expect more along these lines as Ember releases more music videos.
Don"t be too disturbed by the "Courtney is dead" imagery. What the public has seen of Courtney was a persona, just like Ember.
Courtney-slash-Ember isn"t stopping at these three singles, by the way.
Her album, "Off The Record," drops on July 8. That"s in less than a month!
While some of Courtney"s older songs like "Asphalt" and "Mistletoe Bikini" were a bit more sensational, we"re excited to see more of her artistic side.
And we"ll be eager to see more music videos, of course.
The "For You" music video was a wild ride but we keep getting back in line.
