Entertainment

Jason Derulo Is Joining Tinder, Sort Of

by Mary Grace Garis

I always appreciate it when an artist does something groundbreaking and different (looking at you, Queen Bey) but I don't know if I want to swipe right or left to this news: Jason Derulo is releasing the music video for "Want to Want Me" on Tinder. Yes, you heard me correctly, on Tinder. On the dating app that you use to kill time at a lonely 1 am at the bar. I swear to god. I'm not really sure where to begin, with an exasperated "how", or an emphatic "why." Why may be the best place, because Derulo actually has an explanation behind his madness.

"Social media and dating together is the new wave," Derulo told Us Weekly. "It is the source of one half of the relationships in 2015, and I'm all about being part of the new wave. A lot of my friends and family members are on Tinder."

Derulo himself, mind you, doesn't use Tinder because he's afraid of getting stalked by fans. Which, bless his heart, because I only vaguely know him as the "Talk Dirty To Me" guy. He did insist that, "Maybe if they come up with a version of Tinder for celebrities, then I would do it. I do think it is a beautiful thing and works."

And now we swing back to the exasperated "how," because whether Tinder works when it comes to getting you a date or not is one thing. But how Tinder itself works seems... not super conducive to debuting a music video. It's a dating app. You sort through people, not pieces of moving media. Maybe a systematic stringing of Vine vids would make sense. Even a Snapchat preview debuted in everyone's story feed sounds plausible. But Tinder?

This all aside, not everyone's on Tinder, as proven by Derulo himself. Unless you feel like signing up out of intrigue, this will likely only reach a bunch of bored, single millennials. So if it's not to capitalize on the maximum amount of viewers, what's the point of this?

Derulo attached his choice in part to the significance to the song: "It's the perfect place for my new single, ‘Want to Want Me.' On Tinder, you swipe left or right and want the person you like to want you, too. It is a cool and unique way to deliver my new video to the world."

Okay. So it's about... attempting a fresh artistic statement? Showcasing new innovations? Sheer novelty? The sexual thrill? I don't... I don't get it.

Look, I'm pretty sure Derulo knows what he's saying more than my dad does when he asks if he can "get a Youtube on this." Baffled as I am (and I am), Derulo's definitely got my attention, and I certainly want to find out more. Swipe right.

Images: Giphy (2)