CrazyAboutCarrie
Active member
Streaming multiple screens and voting on CMT.
Carrie Underwood Fans
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Cry Pretty Music Video
- Thread starter FanSince04
- Start date
Streaming multiple screens and voting on CMT.
simonplay
Well-known member
What exactly does that mean
marenkaceycarrie
Member
Not many people are replaying the video. That and it doesn't have a lot of promo at the moment that is making people want to watch it. That could change Sunday on Idol, though. Also, all the attention is on Childish Gambino at the moment.
simonplay
Well-known member
It means that once you watched the video there is nothing that will make you want to watch it again and again and again. It's a simple video, just Carrie crying and playing a fake concert for 4 minutes. Obviously her fans will watch it a lot but the casual people not.
Carrieslegs84
Banned
I know that what I’m about to say may not be a popular opinion on here & I might get reamed out for it,but while Cry Pretty is an amazing song&Carrie looks amazing in the video,it’s a very heavy song emotionally lyric wise & coming into the summer months,nobody wants to listen to a song about crying pretty when all people want to hear during those summer months are upbeat songs ,not a song that is going to make you cry uncontrollably.Its a crazy & outlandish theory,but it’s just a reason that’s been bumping around in my head for the past week or so.It could be that there’s no promo for it,but even if it got crazy good promo during Idol on Sunday,the people who wanted to watch it have watched it hundreds of times already& I just can’t imagine people wanting to rewatch a video that makes them cry uncontrollably for hours on end.That’s one of the main reasons that I was only emotionally able to watch the video once,rewatching it just would’ve made my emotions worse.Its late at night & I may not be all there mentally typing this,but in my mind it’s a valid theory that in some strange way may have at least some merit.
Carrieslegs84
Banned
I may not agree with you on a lot of things Simon,but I honestly think that your theory might hold a lot of truth to it.Yes,it’s a very simple video,but it’s also a song that’s very heavy emotionally & lyric wise.People that are rabid Carrie fans will watch it repeatedly,a casual person will watch it once & never watch it again.Not a lot of people want to hear songs like Carrie’s going into the summer months because it’s so heavy emotionally when all people want to hear during those months are happy & upbeat songs that some people would probably equal to listening to a sad Adele song.Its a great song,but you just can’t make people watch a sad video of Carrie crying for 4 minutes &a heavy song emotionally to begin with.Your theory might be crazy,but it might hold some truth to it.
Triquetral
Active member
Hate to say it but I agree. I played it a second time (because I watched it on my phone the first time during the day when it was released here) but otherwise, it doesn't hold replay value...
Carrieslegs84
Banned
I knew that there must have been some truth to this theory when I first saw the post about replay value!!Can you recall if there were ever any other Carrie videos that didn’t have replay value or is this the first one?For some people,this video is just too heavy emotionally to really warrant multiple viewings for the casual watcher that isn’t a Carrie fan.Some people just have no desire to watch Carrie cry for 4 minutes because of the heaviness of the song.
Triquetral
Active member
For me personally, it isn't about the emotionally heavy content at all, because I love the song to death haha! When I think of videos that I watch again and again randomly over the years, I think of videos like So Small, Blown Away, Two Black Cadillacs, Before He Cheats, Temporary Home, Just A Dream, Little Toy Guns etc because they all have a story line in the videos that I want to follow and watch again. If I think of videos with replay value with no story line, I will rewatch Something In The Water and that's probably about it for me, but it is very cinematic with a dance routine and so highly emotional I do want to see it again!
Videos for me that I personally don't think have replay value would be All-American Girl (but I'm Australian so I just don't get the song or video at all), Wasted, Smoke Break and Heartbeat.
If I had to break down why I would't replay it again, it's because it lacks substance. It's her crying for 2 minutes and performing for the other 2 minutes. I totally understand the concept, and I see why they did it, it plays perfectly to the song, but I just don't feel the need to watch it again and again, it doesn't have the appeal.
Carrie explodes on her intense story line videos, those are always her best videos. I guess I just wanted a bit more...
Carrieslegs84
Banned
Cry Pretty does lack substance because it really is 2 minutes of crying & then performing & knowing how it plays into the song material,that’s fine,it was a great video but I literally have no desire to go watch it again coupled with the fact that for me & probably for a casual Carrie fan,it’s just really heavy to me emotionally.Not a lot of people want to watch Carrie crying for 4 minutes.There is just no appeal for in that for a lot of people.Her storytelling videos are where she truly shines & while it was a great video,it just lacked the replay factor.It literally held no appeal after watching Carrie cry & perform for 4 minutes.
haleybailey
New member
She's so pretty even better than she was before the accident.
The song and the video are so good. Love.
The song and the video are so good. Love.
Farawayhills
Well-known member
I think people are always going to have different expectations for a song's video, and different reactions to the way they feel it represents the song's potential.
For my part, the CP video is a very good representation of what the song means to me. I see it as bringing out the contrast between two of the dominant personas in the artist's life - on the one hand, the artificial, glamorized stage persona that her career role requires her to display in public performance, more or less regardless of how she actually feels - and, on the other hand, her personal feelings, that sometimes may be overwhelming, but which she can only really let out when she leaves her stage role behind.
I like the video, because it brings out that contrast very directly - the performance shots, and the emotional shots in her room, are both central elements in that contrast - I think the video needs to emphasize both - and I wouldn't want more extraneous elements to detract from that. In that respect, I do differ from some of you - I'm often not keen on new story elements, or abstract, overly artistic elements, that aren't contained in the song (As examples, I really like TBC and SITW as songs - but wasn't keen, personally, on either video - in the first case, I thought the Pop-culture reference to a supernatural demonic novel took away unnecessarily from the traditional murder ballad theme; and in the second case because the attempt to build a video around a television-inspired dance routine, vaguely linked to water, had really nothing to do with the two central elements of the song - baptism, and a strong link to tradition.)
For those who might prefer a more artistically idealized video, the main historical contrast that occurs to me is Faith Hill's 2002 video, "Cry", which, if you're interested, you can see here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcGntdbDB5Q
This used an elaborate mansion house and grounds set, with artistic use of washes to fade out some of the scenes, suggesting dream sequences. The scenes are somewhat enigmatic, and it's been suggested that they are flashbacks to childhood and failed romances - the viewer is left to supply much of the significance. The artist portrays the depth of emotion and frustration well - but, for me this comes across as much more of a Pop song, both musically, and visually, than I would expect from Carrie - who usually takes more care to reference specifically Country elements.
Opinions are always going to differ, as I said - but I like to see a performance element in a Country Music video, and I think Carrie handled the emotional scenes brilliantly. For me the strength of CP lies in large part in its reach beyond any specific storyline, to bring out the dark side of the pressures the artificiality of stage performance can impose on an artist. This has often been talked about, but showing it took courage. I think the genre benefits from having that contrast exposed - and Carrie is probably the ideal artist to tackle that critique.
For my part, the CP video is a very good representation of what the song means to me. I see it as bringing out the contrast between two of the dominant personas in the artist's life - on the one hand, the artificial, glamorized stage persona that her career role requires her to display in public performance, more or less regardless of how she actually feels - and, on the other hand, her personal feelings, that sometimes may be overwhelming, but which she can only really let out when she leaves her stage role behind.
I like the video, because it brings out that contrast very directly - the performance shots, and the emotional shots in her room, are both central elements in that contrast - I think the video needs to emphasize both - and I wouldn't want more extraneous elements to detract from that. In that respect, I do differ from some of you - I'm often not keen on new story elements, or abstract, overly artistic elements, that aren't contained in the song (As examples, I really like TBC and SITW as songs - but wasn't keen, personally, on either video - in the first case, I thought the Pop-culture reference to a supernatural demonic novel took away unnecessarily from the traditional murder ballad theme; and in the second case because the attempt to build a video around a television-inspired dance routine, vaguely linked to water, had really nothing to do with the two central elements of the song - baptism, and a strong link to tradition.)
For those who might prefer a more artistically idealized video, the main historical contrast that occurs to me is Faith Hill's 2002 video, "Cry", which, if you're interested, you can see here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcGntdbDB5Q
This used an elaborate mansion house and grounds set, with artistic use of washes to fade out some of the scenes, suggesting dream sequences. The scenes are somewhat enigmatic, and it's been suggested that they are flashbacks to childhood and failed romances - the viewer is left to supply much of the significance. The artist portrays the depth of emotion and frustration well - but, for me this comes across as much more of a Pop song, both musically, and visually, than I would expect from Carrie - who usually takes more care to reference specifically Country elements.
Opinions are always going to differ, as I said - but I like to see a performance element in a Country Music video, and I think Carrie handled the emotional scenes brilliantly. For me the strength of CP lies in large part in its reach beyond any specific storyline, to bring out the dark side of the pressures the artificiality of stage performance can impose on an artist. This has often been talked about, but showing it took courage. I think the genre benefits from having that contrast exposed - and Carrie is probably the ideal artist to tackle that critique.
