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Get the Promonews daily round up
Skepta storms back with a state-of-the-nation critique and a video by Aidan Zamiri - shot by Jake Gabbay - that brilliantly captures the sense of turmoil in the track.[imgtoken data:1][imgtoken data:2]
Promonews - 23rd Sept 2026
Jake Duncan directs a thought-provoking and highly personal promo for Belfast-based singer-songwriter Joshua Burnside. The video for It's Not Going To Be Okay is a character study of a middle aged man - played by Duncan's father - living an isolated existence in the countryside, taking us through his daily routines, captured in cinematic scenes and lo-fi cutaways. And this intimate portrait through everyday moments also offers hints at a troubled past. [imgtoken data:1]"When (my Dad) was younger he trained as an actor, but through various forms of self-sabotage, opportunities were repeatedly disrupted," explains Duncan. "The film looks at some of the song’s broader themes through the intimacy of one person’s life: regret, resilience, isolation and the possibility of change."He spent some time in Bosnia at an addiction retreat and eight years in India, where he converted to Hinduism. He then returned home and converted an old horsebox that he’s been living in for the past thirteen years. He now works as a taxi driver, a livelihood that has become increasingly difficult to sustain amid the rising cost of living and declining hourly earnings.[imgtoken data:2]"Rather than trying to match the song’s scale, I wanted to locate its themes within one life. I made the project largely alone over three separate trips, directing, shooting and editing. I cast an actor to play his daughter in one short scene, but much of what appears in the video comes directly from his everyday life. Some sequences are entirely documentary, while others are slightly dramatised."The process has been extremely cathartic for both of us. For most of my life we lived in separate countries, and I only really began building a relationship with him as an adult. I’m glad that we were able to make this together and that such an incredible piece of songwriting gave me the impetus to explore his life, and our relationship, through the film."
Rob Ulitski - 22nd Sept 2026
Troye Sivan dons the chain mail in this latest romp from Gordon von Steiner, reimagining the age of chivalry with a courtly nod to The Princess Bride.The video for Party is, to be expected, another very stylish collab between Troye and von Steiner. A brilliantly effective battle scene it develops continuously into a mini-movie, with plenty of sumptiously-presented eyecandy in a great location - shot by Maximilian Pittner and graded by Jules Weilman at Studio RM.And there's an intro of considerable tongue-in-cheek gravitas from the great Sir Ian McKellan. So what more could you possibly want?[imgtoken data:1]
Promonews - 21st Sept 2026
Joy Crookes' throws herself into a relationship, for better and for worse, in an impressive step into a full-blown narrative video by directing duo Ethan & Tom.In the video for Painkiller, Ethan & Tom put an engagingly fresh spin on the story of a faltering love affair. That is partly down to the structure, but mainly due to how good Joy Crookes is in the role, and her chemistry with her leading man.Shot across Chicago, the film follows Joy through the city as the scales tip - from a happy start through to her waning confidence in the relationship, incorporating performance with the fastmoving narrative and then including Denzel Curry's rap on a karaoke screen. [imgtoken data:1]Joy's brief for the video was specific: the relationship should read as good at the start, and the illusion should come apart as the song does, so by the end the audience has watched a man's charm curdle. Ethan & Tom hold to that arc while keeping the tone light. The song has a tongue-in-cheek quality about someone who keeps being forgiven despite themselves, and the video carries that – it is a sad song shot with a sense of irreverence, fun, and abandon.Part of the success of the video is the casting of Joy's leading man. After a conventional search failed to produce worthy leading-man candidates, Partizan producer Danny Herman street-cast Matt Whipps at The Wormhole Coffee Shop in Chicago shortly before the shoot. His unrehearsed naturalism against Joy's performance lets the relationship's slow collapse register as observed rather than acted.Ultimately this is a confident step-up by Ethan & Tom into narrative territory. It moves between two textures – the immediacy of Chicago and the degraded warmth of tape – without losing its thread. With an excellent cut by editor Liv Ay, it reads as a breakup told in glimpses; funny where it needs to be, and honest about how long it takes to see what was in front of you.
Promonews - 16th Sept 2026
In one of the least expected match-ups of the year, girlgroup legends Sugababes go gothic, lured into a nighttime funeral by Thomas James, music video's reigning Prince of Darkness.James brings his unmistakeable aesthetic to the Sugababes' video for Ghost, placing the trio in a funeral procession, setting off to the graveyard in the dead of night. Decidedly darker and more surreal than the groups' past videography - with the notable exception of their vamp-horror classic for Freak Like Me - James creates a rousing atmosphere that perfectly matches the direction of the track.It's a real double-take of a commission, but it turns out that the 'Babes and Thomas James is a match made in Heaven. Or elsewhere...
Rob Ulitski - 28th Sept 2026
Madonna won Artist of the Year and Confessions II: The Film won four awards, while Taylor Swift won Video Of The Year and Best Direction at this year's MTV VMAs, held in Los Angeles last night.it was a stunning return to former glories for Madonna at this year's MTV Video Music Awards. She won seven awards: Artist of the Year, Best Collaboration and Best Album, while her visual magnum opus Confessions II: The Film took four prizes. Madonna also performed live at the start of the MTV VMAs TV broadcast, the first time she had performed at the VMAs since 2003, when she notoriously planted a kiss on Britney Spears's mouth. And on receiving the Artist Of The Year honour, she reminded the audience that she had also performed at the first VMAs 43 years ago, in 1983. Taylor Swift strengthened her position as the artist with most wins at the VMAs by taking the Video of the Year honour for the self-directed The Fate Of Ophelia, and also Best Direction for her direction of her video for Opalite, the biggest prize in the VMAs' Professional categories - voted by industry members, and not included in the telecast. The TV broadcast also featured a live version of the school photo sequence in second half of the Gener8ion's Storm video, with the choreography by Damian Jalet being recreated by 'schoolboy' dancers around a statuesque Yung Lean - holding an ice cream rather than a cigarette.But having garnered several nominations, the Romain Gavras-directed video won no awards at the ceremony - not even Best Choreography. That went to Madonna's Confessions II: The Film, to which Damian Jalet also contributed, with Megan Lawson, Young Boy Dancing Group and Nicolas Huchard. • Full list of winners at the 2026 MTV VMAs here
Promonews - 28th Sept 2026
Jim Longden directs a brand film-cum-music video for the collaboration between singer-songwriter Jana Diab and jewellry company Chopard.Longden brings his signature playful charm to this two minute piece featuring Jana (who executive produced and creative directed the project) taking tea in a grand ballroom. And it creates a sweetly eccentric universe more successfully than any number of fashion or perfume ads with far larger budgets. This follows in the footsteps of the pair's collaboration on the equally eccentric video for The Captain & The Crow last year, supporting the world building for Jana's upcoming album All Is Well.
Promonews - 28th Sept 2026
Mathieu Chesneau directs a Sixties-inspired promo for French designer and singer Hélène In Paris's singular interpretation of Happy Birthday. Bringing Hélène (aka Hélène Benhamou) together with her musicians in a stipped-back studio setting. The video echoes Paris nights and glamour, revealing a more spontaneous and rock-oriented side of the artists' musical universe.Director Mathieu Chesneau keeps things stripped-back and focused on the main event - the joyous performance unfolding in front of our eyes.
Rob Ulitski - 28th Sept 2026
Much-touted Irish-Cornish band Girl In The Year Above's very catchy tune gets a smart performance video by Dylan Friese-Greene, where singer Jennifer's tattoos come magically to life.The video for meme-friendly Wet Paint is as warm and inviting as the song, the band playing in a sun-drenched apartment. The winning device are the animations that replicate Jennifer's performance and the key message of the song: 'wet paint... don't touch.' "We had a few naysayers about the animated tattoos," reveals Friese-Greene. "But that only spurred us on to see if it were possible."I'm grateful to all the crew and band limbs that were donated for the experiment!"
David Knight - 25th Sept 2026
New York-based filmmaker Chloé Desaulles has directed a highly distinctive video for Arlo Parks, using experimental techniques to place Arlo in a unique version of the dancefloor.In the video for Get Go, Desaulles has employed custom-programmed software that distorts recorded reality, blurring motion, color and architecture. The environment becomes an ambient, moving painting, stretching of time and light, depicting the feeling of being on the dancefloor and looking from the outside in.Arlo threads both in and out of the crowd, as participant and observer, blending with the colors and pixels of the digital space. The singer-songwriter has commented that the direction, editing and custom graphics “perfectly encapsulate the sense of melancholy euphoria at the center of the record."She adds: "It's about the dancefloor as a means of healing, understanding yourself and discovering your relationship to love."
Promonews - 25th Sept 2026
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