VICTORIA doesn’t waste any time laying down the theme for her new song ‘alright’. In the dramatic opening to the music video, she speaks directly to the listener, setting forth the dark musical prologue: “Have you ever taken a sip of your own aching heart? Are you tired of fighting with your f*cking thoughts?” In our everyday battles, the enemy frequently comes from within.
The five-minute video moves from those troubled scenes and toward the light. But it doesn’t follow a straight line. A “tongue-tied” VICTORIA must first articulate her unease as she sings in what appears to be an abandoned warehouse — bare bar for its concrete walls. As others hurry along she’s left feeling on the outs, struggling to fit in with a world she doesn’t fully understand.
That comes through in her choreography. During the chorus, VICTORIA jerks her body away from a wall, crawls across it, and grabs her head. The broken movements convey a struggle with herself. But it’s a fight punctuated with optimism. As she sings: “Running through a cold rain, I’ve tried to fight like a bottle in a sea wave, thought I was insane, but it’ll be alright.”
VICTORIA: ‘alright’ music video
As in her Eurovision 2020 entry, her anxious feelings are set against light, uplifting sounds. The mismatch conveys the reality we all face navigating expectation and reality, effort and result. Thankfully, as the song progresses she justifies those hopeful notes. She leaves the concrete expanse behind her and heads to the sea. There — away from the fake smiles and distractions — she remembers that it’s OK not to be OK, and that time is perhaps the greatest healer. Once the bottle buffeted by the sea, she’s now a woman taking comfort in her solitude and the water’s warm embrace: “You can taste your freedom and your soul, your soul is finally yours.”
VICTORIA on “alright”
In a press release ahead of the song’s debut, VICTORIA made it clear how much of herself she poured into the track.
“‘Alright’ was written in Bulgaria during an Eurovision songwriting camp in January. We were quite tired from the long sessions and we just wanted to take a little break. Together with Sanne Österberg, Cornelia Wiebois, Martin Masarov and Borislav Milanov we wrote it in few hours. I cried the night we recorded it. I can’t wait to share it with the world.”
In a fresh statement issued with the release, VICTORIA elaborated on the song’s meaning.
“We all have our everyday challenges. Finding your true self and your place is not easy. I also struggled with this for a long time. Discovering your own voice takes time. But through this journey we learn important lessons. We learn to be patient. Hiding from those everyday challenges is not the way forward and sometimes people forget their dreams. ‘Alright’ is about facing those challenges, finding this new hope that comes from saying to yourself, ‘Everything will be alright’ and moving forward. Because life is wonderful and we are often stronger than we think. We just need to let the light guide us and remember that it will be alright.”
The video was filmed in Burgas and Primorsko, two of the most visited seaside cities on the Black Sea coast in Bulgaria. The indoor scenes took place in the indoor venue Arena Burgas, which is still in the process of being built, and the outdoor scenes were filmed on the beautiful Perla Beach near Primorsko. The music video was co-directed by Victoria and was produced by Four Elementz and LignaStudios.
Are you loving the video? Does it give you hope that everything will be OK? Shout out your thoughts down below!
‘alright’ lyrics — VICTORIA (Bulgaria)
Tongue-tied, I’m tryna find words to say
Something that’s real, mm-hmm-hmm
Thought I could fit in a place like this
Not what it seems
I’m a little worried, everyone is hurrying
Missing half the things that we have done
Isn’t it a cold world?
Lost a little hope but
Hoping that it’s gonna be alright
(Chorus)
I’ve tried to hide in myself
But it’s a lost game
Running through a cold rain
I’ve tried to fight like a
Bottle in a sea wave
Thought I was insane
But it’ll be alright
Know that everything is gonna be alright
‘Cause everything around me is gonna be alright
Alright, alright, alright
(Verse 2)
Fake smiles
It doesn’t feel real to me
Why can’t you see? It’s not that hard
To lose yourself in a pool full of tears
(Chorus)
I’ve tried to hide in myself
But it’s a lost game
Running through a cold rain
I’ve tried to fight like a
Bottle in a sea wave
Thought I was insane
But it’ll be alright
Know that everything is gonna be alright
‘Cause everything around me is gonna be alright
Alright, alright, alright
(Bridge)
Vision got blurry
I close my eyes
Maybe when I wake up
It will be fine
(Chorus)
I’ve tried to hide in myself
But it’s a lost game
Running through a cold rain
I’ve tried to fight like a
Bottle in a sea wave
Thought I was insane
But it’ll be alright
Know that everything is gonna be alright
‘Cause everything around me is gonna be alright
Alright, alright, alright
Victoria’s song, really good, she never disappoints. Hopefully she can collaborate with Duncan Laurence. Also, this could be like an anthem for Black Lives Matter and Covid-19 too.
You go girl. Love it.
Brilliant song. Perfectly produced. Meaningful, deep and yet pop-ish.
Bravo, Victoria! <3
“Alright” is a pretty apt title for it.
I like that there’s a bit more going on in it compared to her ESC entry but, at the same time, it never really gets “there”. Decent track though.
I’m so proud of her. She’s been killing it with her past two songs and if she continues like this, we’re definitely winning Eurovision next year. I can’t stop repeating the song ughhh ?
I just hope she sticks with the same genre as her recent singles
We don’t want another generic pop song !
Bulgaria’s so lucky to have a singer like her as their representative
reminds me a lot of the Interstellar soundtrack
Masterpiece!