If the inaugural YouTube Music Awards had a "let's put on a show" — or, to quote Bill O'Reilly, "Fuck it, we'll do it live!" — vibe, then the follow-up finds the massive video/web site playing to their strengths and skipping the live show in favor of a deluge of specially commissioned videos by creative musicians and directors.
First up is this Petros clip for Martin Garrix, where the club DJ plays a lowly towelboy trying his darndest to catch the eye of a stuck-up guest at a very uptight country club. It's a losing proposition, until he conjures more than a little magic to seal the deal.
Director Life Garland provides a glimpse into the globetrotting life of Justin Bieber:
Life Garland, director: I've done several videos for Scooter Braun and Mildred Delamota over at Def Jam/Universal, so having them ask me to direct this Justin Bieber record was fitting. This video is comprised of intimate behind the scene moments of Justin, explosive performance from Justin's touring, and some of the craziest most die hard fans on the planet! This video was created for the fans and showcases Justin Bieber as the superstar that he is.
Sometimes a song is so infectious that you can't help yourself. Such is the case in "Levels," where a workaday dork has no control over his dancing infatuation with Avicii. After a totally genius interlude where he passes out and dreams about his Sisyphus-like existance (don't be scared; there's a rainbow) he winds up in a hospital where the infection bloom once again and starts to spread like a bad case of the Zombies. --> watch "Levels"
