Labrinth Drops Emotional “Jealous” Video: Watch

Christina Lee | October 31, 2014 12:03 pm

Labrinth has shown before that he doesn’t require much to make a huge impression. When the London singer-songwriter (Rihanna, Ellie Goulding) stopped by the Idolator studios last year, he performed an acoustic rendition of his grimy club-pop banger “Earthquake,” as if it was written during the same session as his Emeli Sande-featuring ballad “Beneath Your Beautiful.”

Labrinth wrote his new song “Jealous” with Josh Kear and Natalie Hemby in Nashville earlier this year. It’s about how he and his family felt when one of his parents abandoned him as a child (“I’m jealous of the way you’re happy without me”), and the video could have easily recreated such specific memories. Instead he sits alone in an empty theater, singing each lyric as if he’s still searching for the right words — and it pains him to do so.

Like some of his music, Labrinth’s “Jealous” video is arresting in its simplicity. Watch up top.

Get an eyeful of even more pop music coverage, from artist interviews to exclusive performances, on Idolator’s YouTube channel.

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