Laura Bell Bundy Sends Message of Empowerment in "Get It Girl, You Go"
The vocal blend of Broadway star Laura Bell Bundy and her talented friends Shoshana Bean and Anika Noni Rose calls to mind the Andrews Sisters, that great singing group of the 1940s. Yet, their message in "Get It Girl, You Go" is truly contemporary as the three singers reel off the endless contributions of the hard-working women of today.
That spirit of achievement stretches behind the scenes, too, as Bundy notes, "The video was edited, animated, and produced by a diverse group of ALL women, including editors Hannah Bacher and Jasmine Lewis, animator Clair Chin and produced by Ariel Zucker from CNT Productions."
The uptempo track is charting the course for Bundy's upcoming album, Women of Tomorrow. Enjoy "Get It Girl, You Go," then read our interview with Bundy below the player.
What do you remember most about the shoot for this video?
Well, shooting a video during quarantine is unforgettable! And it takes many days of shooting! Like most of my music videos, I conceptualize, direct and/or produce them. This one was no different and it was one Herculean task! There are three main singers. But of course, all of us couldn’t be singing and dancing together in the same room because of Covid!
So I ordered a pop-up green screen and I filmed my parts, then I sanitized the equipment and sent it to the other two women with directions on angle, light, dance moves, etc. I would then walk them thru their parts and do the moves for them on Zoom. Then they would shoot the footage on their phones and upload it for the editor. Then the editor made it appear we were together. I remember most the smell of alcohol and Lysol as I sanitized the green screen and ring light.
How does the video bring your song to life?
The song is about women breaking barriers while doing it all -- getting a degree, a seat at the table, rising the ranks in her field or running for office all the while having other responsibilities like being a wife and a mom. It celebrates how capable and powerful women are and that they really DO get it done. As we sing the verses, animation is drawn to depict a day in the life of the women singing while footage of 100 years of women’s history is interspersed -- the fight for the right to vote, joining the workforce, civil rights, the women’s movement of the '70s and beyond.
Then we begin to see women who are running for office in 2020 to show just how far we have come. (More women are running for Congress than ever before!) And finally, to show how important it is that we as women support one another, a chorus of women (some fairly well-known) make cameo appearances to double down on the message of empowerment and sisterhood.
What message do you hope your fans take away from the video?
I hope people will recognize the awesome power women have and how far they have come in the last century. It’s important to remember that many of the rights and freedoms we enjoy today were hard fought for -- like the right to own property, the right to vote, the right to go to college, become a doctor or a lawyer or any other profession dominated by men, have access to birth control, take out a credit card without the permission of their husband or father, get maternity leave…. All of it. Fought for and WON.
I hope as women watch this, they feel empowered and inspired to go after what they want, or to make that change, and to know without a shred of doubt, they have the innate power it takes to do it. I also hope they make sure they are registered to vote and take some time to learn about and support female candidates! There is a guide link of how to do that at the end of the video.
How did it feel to see the finished product for the first time?
I felt emotional.... Partly because of the relief of having it done. After many edits, seeing it finally come together how I had imagined, brought on part exhaustion and part victory tears. I also felt proud. Proud to be a woman -- watching the footage of all of these women run for office 100 years after (a majority of them) got the right to vote.
We've made a lot of progress in a relatively short time -- despite adversity! And I felt proud of the all-female production company that really pulled the elements of the video together -- CNT productions: Ariel Zucker, Clair Chin, & Jasmine Lewis.
Songwriters: Laura Bell Bundy, Shea Carter, Jeremy Adelman