That Rihanna reign just won’t let up.
The singer’s new single “Sledgehammer” for the upcoming “Star Trek Beyond” soundtrack made history by becoming the 1st music video to be entirely shot using IMAX cameras. And now we get to watch it in all its HD glory.
Directed by Italian-Canadian Floria Sigismondi and penned by Sia, the otherworldly visual drops Rihanna in a deserted rocky vista. There, she plays a beautiful mystified alien in a red draped garment with cosmic face paint and an eccentric hairstyle to match.
The aesthetic visuals are stunning and celestial, as we see Riri swaying around while lifting matter and boulders with her mind and spirit. She’s basically an all powerful alien who controls the landscape through telekinesis while singing, “You’re just another brick and I’m a sledgehammer”.
By the end of the clip, the 28-year-old beauty becomes multiplied and turns into some sort of celestial god when she is merged with the galaxy. The Starship Enterprise also makes a brief appearance, before flying off into a shimmering Rihanna-shaped constellation.
For Rihanna, this wasn’t just an ordinary soundtrack collaboration. A self-professed Trekkie, the pop star opened up about her lifelong fascination for the “Star Trek” franchise.
“Star Trek has been a part of my life since I was a little girl. My dad really is the one who introduced me to Star Trek. It just took me 1 episode to fall in love with this other world that I couldn’t understand, but I felt like I could relate to. I was always very curious about the characters and the story lines,” she shared.
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“You always felt emotionally connected to the characters and whatever they were going through. This is something that’s been a part of me since my childhood and it’s never left me so it wasn’t like just doing a song for any random film. I love Star Trek. It was automatic,” the singer added.
“The song is about breaking down barriers,” Sigismondi explained. “Being for Star Trek, it’s all about exploration, exploration of the unknown . . . The idea of transcendence, transcending through these barriers, transcending through the blocks that we put on ourselves, and being sort of larger than life. For me, [Rihanna’s character] is kind of like this ancient alien living on this otherworldly planet, and she’s this mystical being that harnesses the power to manipulate the elements.”
The director also shared about working closely with the makeup artist to create the perfect look for Rihanna. “We wanted to really give her her own character. It’s about creating something ancient, almost otherworldly. When you look at her movements, they’re just so unique and so beautiful. We wanted her to embody energy, in the way she moved. She’s just got those beautiful hands; creating all this great movement with her hands was amazing to watch. She is an abundance of energy, actually; she really gives it to you—it’s amazing,” she said.
Without further ado, we invite you to travel through space to Planet Riri with the music video for “Sledgehammer” below:
“Star Trek Beyond” will be released in theatres on 21st July 2016.
Sources: Billboard, Vanity Fair, Rap-Up.
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