Dierks Bentley Debuts Breathtaking ‘Black’ Music Video
In Dierks Bentley's new "Black" music video, it's hard to decide what's more breathtaking: the vast Icelandic scenery or the woman at the center of the clip ... who just so happens to be Bentley's wife Cassidy!
Over the past year, Bentley has revealed a different side of himself with every single (and accompanying video): First, there was the irreverent breakup hit "Somewhere on a Beach," followed by a more thoughtful take on heartache (from the girl's perspective, no less!) in his CMA-winning collaboration with Elle King, "Different for Girls." Now, with "Black," Bentley is entering even more new terrain, emotionally and geographically.
When Bentley set out to create the video for his album Black's title track, he knew that it would be his most important one yet. "Black" is at the heart of the project, a love song that takes its name from his wife's maiden name.
“It’s no secret that this record is named after my wife [Cassidy], and she was both brave and generous to let me write about our relationship as the foundation of a lot of these songs,” Bentley says. “I’ve talked about how [Black] explores some of the darker corners and edges of the heart, what happens in the black of night, and this song was really central to forming the rest of the project.”
For his "Black" music video, Bentley tapped longtime collaborator Wes Edwards to direct, and the two hatched an ambitious, larger-than-life concept for the clip. Shot just outside of Reykjavik, Iceland, the "Black" video pairs the stark beauty of the island's landscape (arctic waves, snow-covered mountains and the Northern Lights) with sensual clips of Bentley with his wife. But while Cassidy's appearance in the video may seem like a given, it almost didn't happen.
“The most ambitious part of the whole deal was convincing my wife to be in the video,” Bentley tells Time. “The fact that she was in the video, that’s a story in and of itself.”
When Bentley and Edwards were casting for the video, they didn't even consider Cassidy at first, simply because she is extremely camera shy. But when Bentley just couldn't seem to decide on a female lead, he realized that the only person for the role was his wife. So, while on tour in Kentucky, Bentley texted her; she was back home in Nashville.
“I was in the kitchen, when [Bentley] sent me this text: ‘I need you to be in this video. It doesn’t make sense to me if you’re not in it,'” Cassidy recalls, noting that while she was definitely hesitant, her husband's desire to have her in the clip eventually won her over. “We’ve been married for 11 years and have three kids. It’s really nice that he wants me to be in it. It’s lovely.”
Edwards tells Time that the four-day music video shoot happened right in the middle of a "once-a-year storm," which meant that Bentley and his wife were filming in below-freezing temperatures and gusting winds.
Beyond the "Black" clip's sexy scenes, Cassidy says that its symbolism is what means the most to her: Throughout the video, Bentley is in constant pursuit of his wife, following her across the scenic terrain, always a few steps behind.
“When I think about intimacy, you do go through these landscapes together that are totally foreign that you’ve never been in,” Cassidy says. “You have to take turns leading and following each other to stay together.”
"Black" is the third single off Bentley's eighth studio album. Fans can see the country star perform it live on his 2017 What the Hell World Tour.
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