Taylor Swift debuts 'Patient Zero' music video at the VMAs
What's the story
Taylor Swift's music video for Patient Zero premiered at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday night (local time). The video, starring Dakota Johnson and Colin Farrell, takes the song's love triangle into dramatic and spooky territory. Days before the premiere, Swift had teased the video with a 13-second teaser. For the unversed, her new song comes from her latest album Life of a Showgirl: Encore, which includes three more songs, excluding Patient Zero.
Video introduction
'The main reason why I love writing and directing...'
Before introducing the video, Swift said, "I got to start making music videos and being a part of music videos 20 years ago."
"The main reason why I love writing and directing music videos so much is because you, the fans, make it so much fun."
"It's so rewarding because you actually care about what we're making."
"So I wanna say thank you to everyone who ever worked on a music video that I got to be a part of."
Video details
The video's story takes a darker turn toward the end
In the video, Johnson and Farrell play a couple whose relationship is on the rocks.
Swift plays a counselor to Johnson's character, singing lyrics about being Farrell's ex and knowing how things will go.
The story takes a darker turn as we see flashbacks of similar experiences, with Swift reacting more angrily to his infractions.
The video ends with Johnson placing black roses on Swift's character's gravestone.
Video insights
'I got to explore the cinematic and literary genres...'
After the premiere, Swift took to Instagram to share her thoughts on the video.
She wrote, "Getting to work with @chivexp (Emmanuel Lubezki) was something out of a dream sequence...I want to thank @dakotajohnson and Colin for trusting me with their time, taste, and talent."
"With the Patient Zero video, I got to explore the cinematic and literary genres I love so much...The house was a metaphor for the coldness of a relationship that's faded and atrophied."
Video availability
'Patient Zero' will be available on YouTube from Tuesday
After the VMAs premiere, fans were informed that they could watch Patient Zero on Apple Music, Spotify Premium, or Amazon Music.
Swift has been releasing her recent videos on YouTube's free tier a couple of days after their release.
This is likely because views from non-paid platforms don't contribute to the consumption totals that influence Billboard charts.
The video will be available on YouTube starting Tuesday.