In the #MeToo era, the female voice is being reclaimed from decades of being silenced and ignored. Maren Morris’ GIRL video showcases and celebrates women from a myriad of economic, social, religious, and racial backgrounds and how each is having their moment, turning to the camera, and taking back their power.

Maren Morris approached Dave Meyers to create a fresh and unique video that would stand out in what has been an otherwise stale music genre for videos. The popular American country music scene is by and large a machine. It pumps out music people are used to, videos they’ll watch without much thought, and generally not push too many boundaries. Morris chose to take a risk and push not only a more cinematic and experimental work, but something that speaks to what has otherwise been a taboo and unspoken perspective within the genre. The treatment and concept is what grew from that initial conversation.

The video begins with a short interview with Maren Morris answering the question, “what do women want.” Her answer? “We want the same.” This draws us into a montage of women, backs to the camera, in many stages of their lives. Working, creating, fighting, in contemplation, struggling… being. The world itself is what the audience faces. Allowing us to BE these women. To see the world as they see it. And it’s not until they’ve had enough, and quite literally burning things down, do they turn to us. They are now what we face. They are have taken control. The world must now follow them.

Maren Morris is an up and coming country artist who desired to create a video that empowers women and girls of all ages and backgrounds. Her platform has been using YouTube comments to engage with her fans and give them a voice. By implementing a documentary style framing device, she elevates what could have been a well shot, well-produced video for her next single into a statement of her values in a genre of American music that has been hesitant to comment on the progressive ideals of a modern and inclusive world.

Shot over four separate days, utilizing more than 15 locations and nearly 200 women of all ages and backgrounds, the video demanded an edit that was relentless and unstoppable. It was filmed to be a force which could not be ignored without a wasted frame. The video’s success was built not on a single story told over its four and a half minutes, but of many, many stories. Told succinctly, back to back. With match cuts that showcase the connectiveness of the female experience. Those who are marginalized and those who stand before the masses as a solo female artist in a sold-out stadium. It is in many ways an anthem to standing tall. Standing firm. Not backing down in a world that’s been built against you.

In its first two months, the video has garnered more than 2.5 million views on YouTube. But Maren Morris’ engagement didn’t stop at just releasing the video online. She is one of the few artists in music who engages directly with her fans through social media, especially within YouTube’s comment section. In the early days of the video's release, she used the comment section as a sort of Q&A and to bring warmth and personality to what is normally a cold “here’s the video” drop. From the responses, the video seems to have empowered men and women alike to look at the ways in which they engage with the world. How their strength is present in them even in the smallest and seemingly inane moments. She states, “No matter how hard it is, at this particular moment in time, it’s going to be ok… they’re not alone in their imperfection."