Entertainment

Selena Gomez's 'Bad Liar' Music Video Is Here

by S. Atkinson
SelenaGomezVEVO from YouTube

Any 2017 savvy lady knows that romance is at least 90 percent about self-love. So no wonder Selena Gomez's "Bad Liar" music video is all about herself. Nope, I'm not trading in clever metaphors. The 24 year old has cast herself four times over, playing a high school student, her teacher father, her mother, and a PE teacher at the school. And, believe me, you haven't lived until you've seen the "Kill Em With Kindness" singer rock some upper lip fuzz.

All this is pretty heartening. Given her romance with The Weeknd and the fact he's also a high profile celebrity, you might have been forgiven for expecting him to possibly make a cameo in the video (perhaps a la Ben Affleck's butt-stroking turn in Jennifer Lopez's "Jenny From The Block"). But despite seeming totally happy with the musician, she shows us that she certainly doesn't need any assistance when it comes to casting her videos.

Of course, Gomez isn't the first artist to think up a doppelganger concept for her music video this year. Ed Sheeran's "Castle On The Hill" shot an actor with an uncanny likeness to the British star returning to his old high school. But I'd argue Gomez's take on the theme is far more playful.

Perhaps I'm reading too deeply into the concept, but it feels like the video is making an excellent point about narcissism. You know, about the times we're drawn to others romantically more for their similarities to us than their differences.

Or what do I know? Maybe it was just a really great excuse to get Gomez to rock a Farrah Fawcett style blonde wig (which she does with aplomb). And I'm not alone in celebrating the track, which samples your favorite Talking Heads song “Psycho Killer.” (The track which was released in the late '70s, which perhaps explains why the high school backdrop nods to the same decade.) David Byrne, the founding member and lead singer of Talking Heads was quick to send snaps for a job well done:

Honestly, the weird moment between the PE teacher and the dad gave me the Broad City chills. Remember that time Ilana seduced a woman who looked exactly like her? This video doesn't just acknowledge that concept; it elevates it to an art form. So if, like me, you're intrigued by the ending promise that "Fetish" is coming soon, let's cross our fingers that, whatever this project is, it's all about doppelgänger.