Singer-songwriter Joy Williams has released a new music video for her song, “Woman (Oh Mama).”
Williams rose to fame as a member of the four-time Grammy Award-winning duo The Civil Wars. In the interim between the release of their acclaimed record Barton Hollow and the self-titled (The Civil Wars) album, The Civil Wars garnered media attention for taking an extended hiatus, which was covered in a multitude of ways. And, after much speculation, in August of 2014, Williams and John Paul White announced that they were ending their musical partnership, and would be pursuing different creative paths.
In year and a half since the duo broke up, Williams collaborated with Paramore’s Hayley Williams (no relation), and has continued working on a new solo album. The highly anticipated album, Venus, is set to be released in the middle of the summer on Sensibility Music/Columbia Records.
The video for “Woman (Oh Mama)” was directed by Sanji and Ben Redmond, and in it, viewers find Williams stepping into an energetic pop-oriented sound that is starkly different than the acoustic-folk sound of The Civil Wars.
“Woman (Oh Mama)” opens with a shot of Williams laying on her side, naked, as she hums the opening notes of the song. (Please note, although, she is nude, the shots are tastefully done, and this video is safe to view.) Then the upbeat track kicks in, and the camera cuts between a series of shots that show parts of her body – her lips, eyes, and back – before coming to rest on Williams standing on a soundstage wearing a purple dress.
The colorful and energetic video also utilizes effects, such as, Williams’ form is shown dancing, but she appears to be covered in a blanket of stars from head to toe. And, in another series of shots, she’s shown dancing in flames.
So, what does it all mean?
Well, in a press release, Joy commented, “So much of this music video (and the upcoming album) is about acceptance, transcendence, forgiveness and growing stronger for having stared into the darkest places within myself. That’s when the light begins to appear, the transformation. I am a universe wrapped in skin. Maybe too much skin. But I felt I needed to show who I was from the inside out. Who we all are.”
Check it out, below.
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