Baby Don’t Lie by Gwen Stefani
“Baby Don’t Lie” promotes Gwen Stefani’s third album studio, that is likely to be released in December 2014. The song marks the artist’s comeback in music industry as solo artist, following “Early Winter” launched in 2008.
The theme is simple: a woman can feel insecure about her relationship and asks for truth instead of being cheated. “Baby Don’t Lie” debuts with a vintage black and white background, even Gwen Stefani’s outfits follow this rule. Once she starts to sing about her story, her words are embodied by oversized letter falling as a rain, turning the background into a colorful one, focusing on yellow and red tones.
Every detail is oversized, reminding of “What Are You Waiting For” or reduced to a contrast of black and white, to suggest the inner tension existing in every relationship, as Gwen Stefani highlights.
If her dancers are anonymous, having their faces covered by darkness, the accessories Gwen Stefani uses are in the center of attention: a white iPhone and a pair of red Beats headphones. The dance style preferred by Gwen Stefani is mostly hip hop, associated with break dance and reggae influences.
The end of “Baby Don’t Lie” is in fact a return to the debut, images of Gwen Stefani singing and dancing being rapidly reversed, as the rushed browsing of a film. The background implied is a minimal one, formed by cartoon forms, the only realistic scene being the one featuring Gwen Stefani dancing on a street during night time. Besides the impact of black and white tones, the strong shades of red and yellow, the video is seasoned with special effects such as the duplication of Gwen Stefani’s shadow.
“Baby Don’t Lie”, released on 20 October 2014, is a pop song with reggae influence, transforming Gwen Stefani’s powerful voice into a versatile attraction for radios. The song was written by the artist, Ryan Tedder, Noel Zancanella and Benny Blanco, songwriters associated with Maroon 5, OneRepublic or Katy Perry.
“Baby Don’t Lie” was produced by Ryan Tedder and Benny Blanco, mixing besides the main musical influences a suite of attractive elements such as hip-hop debut or pop and rapping fragments.
The video for “Baby Don’t Lie”, released on 21 October 2014, was directed by Sophie Muller, having created the majority of Gwen Stefani’s videos as solo artist, as well as positively videos such as “Soldier of Love” (Sade) or “Girl on Fire” (Alicia Keys).