Chlöe Says Her 'Have Mercy' Video Is 'All About Ass, But In An Artistic Way'

The road to Chlöe Bailey's debut solo single "Have Mercy" was long, arduous, and some days even plagued by toxic comments from strangers who resisted to let her own her confidence. Yet with a wildly bold and inventive new video directed by Karena Evans that lets Chlöe present herself precisely how she wants the world to be able to see her, she's truly arrived.


As she tells MTV News ahead of the debut efficiency of "Have Mercy" at the 2021 VMAs on Sunday, September 12, executing her vision as she saw it was paramount to the song's rollout. Males can glorify ass in their videos. I'd like to do it with this in an artful, really fun, pretty way," she tells MTV News correspondent Dometi Pongo. ​"I think it's so fantastic how ladies can claim ownership of their bodies and not let the world do it. We get to do it in the way that we want to."


In the dizzying clip, a dominating Chlöe steals every moment of spotlight as she fills the frame in look soon after look on sorority row, all while a loose narrative of missing males plays while in. By the end, it's clear she's turning these guys males, really) to stone. However the cornerstone of the full concept resides in simple shots of Chlöe in front of pink backgrounds.


The visual noticed its origins in that color, which led to the idea of Greek life, and Chlöe herself planned the darker twist of the "modern-day Medusa" tale, epitomized by a series of frightening and erratic choreography by Chlöe bathed in harsh nightmare lighting.


"I wanted to create it all about ass, nevertheless in an artsy way," she says. "I think it's so cool how females have this incredible power. They can leave gentlemen in a trance with their bodies and their spirits and the way they carry themselves."


She felt like a different person on set, and while in her interview, the distinction between the protagonist of "Have Mercy" and the gentler Chlöe we knew are palpable. That mentioned, she's happy to keep the experience of embodying such a confident and sexual persona in her own personalized reserves — she never is aware once she may need to "tap back inside it. Segment of her positivity about the shoot comes from the family member vibe" they traditional thanks to director Evans, her creative lead, Andrew Makadsi, and even a fast cameo from Beyoncé's mom, Tina Knowles-Lawson.


"I think it's astonishing how Karena gets it because she woman, she is a Black woman, and there's some things that I didn't even have to really explain because she is aware it by living life," she says. "You get to be able to see the power that we hold inside the music video. I felt sexy doing it, yet it's also very empowering."


"Have Mercy" will probably appear on Chlöe's forthcoming debut album, the solid roots of which took hold in 2020. Right after her and sister Halle embarked on their so-called "backyard tour" for their 2019 album Ungodly Hour, Halle went into production on Disney's The Little Mermaid update. Chlöe, meanwhile, dove right into her solo music. Of the estimated 100 songs she recorded for possible inclusion, Chlöe currently has it narrowed down to about 30 — and in a streaming era marked by much longer albums, maybe she only has to lose about 10 to create it work.


for now, it seems like it'll length pop and R&B, as both "Have Mercy" and her Chloe x Halle work have. However, she's teasing that we haven't quite heard what she's totally capable of. "I love how my tone sounds on pop records, which you guys really haven't even heard nevertheless she says.


What we have heard? "Have Mercy," though we still haven't seen what Chlöe will do with it while she debuts it stay at the VMAs. If the video is any indication of where her head is at right now, we're in for a ride. "I'm going to be honest: I'm very scared," she says of the showcase moment. Nevertheless I'm really grateful... [To] finally show the world who I am completely."