RuPaul - Supermodel (You Better Work)
Supermodel (You Better Work) - RuPaul |
Out of all the options for my Thursday Revisit; of course, I was going to choose RuPaul's debut single which definitely inspired many people and charted in the US, the UK, and Canada. This song is totally iconic because so many of the phrases that we hear RuPaul say on his TV show "RuPaul's Drag Race" are ones he says in this song. The song was released in 1992 and had pretty good success. Personally, I always identify the 90's as a decade with influential drag queens. From what I remember, there was many of them on TV, making a name for themselves. Nowadays, it's not so easy to find drag queens on mainstream TV shows. They clearly left an impression on me, as I remember asking my Mom all about them. RuPaul has totally been an influential person for the LGBT+ community and this drag queen will go down in history. Watch RuPaul play a little black girl and become supermodel of the world, based on his own young life within the gay community and the culture he grew up with in this music video for "Supermodel (You Better Work)".
RuPaul, real name RuPaul Charles, has definitely come straight back into the limelight with his very popular American TV show RuPaul's Drag Race, which has seen him crown a number of drag queens as America's Next Drag Superstar. Yet, this is the song that really started RuPaul's music career - which has certainly been lengthy. It's inspiringly catchy and definitely was a surprising hit for the era that it was released. It managed to chart at number 39 on the UK Singles Chart and number 45 on the US Billboard Hot 100; as well as number two on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs Chart, and number four on the Canadian RPM Dance/Urban Singles Chart. The song was written by RuPaul, Jimmy Harry, and Larry Tee.
The music video was directed by Randy Barbato, and it continues to prove how current RuPaul is. The visual has a performance piece based within a narrative and is completely flawless. This concept and the way they have managed to pull it off is certainly ahead of its time. Was this really filmed in 1993? Throughout the video, actress LaWanda Page talks; she has several lines in the song, but does not appear in the music video; although she does appear in RuPaul's following videos.
During the narrative, we watch a little black girl get spotted by an "Ebony Fashion Fair" talent scout who then grows up to become the supermodel of the world. This is all announced by LaWanda Page as RuPaul looks at old photos. The video continues to show RuPaul as the supermodel of the world, prancing down the road like it's a runway.
She continues to do model things, like photo shoots and signing magazines with her face on. She uses the song to teach others that they have to work. As the video progresses, we see that this life is getting too much for her - and we all know how that feels. Stressed and overworked, RuPaul cracks under pressure; but. at the end, she laughs it off as if it was all a bit of fun.
It's totally not surprising that MTV loved this video, we all love this video. Clearly, the music channels played a key part in creating a hit song; and, to be fair, they still play a major part in the charts, especially considering people like Shawn Mendes with "Stitches" launched up the UK chart with his song, after the music channels played it often (as well as radio, obviously). This is complete in every way; and, to be fair, if it were released in today, it'll get a similar rating, because it's strong, it's effective, and it's relatable to the song in every way.
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