Who would have thought that the once so-called ‘Emo Icon’ Brendon Urie, and pop sensation Taylor Swift would ever have their names displayed next to one another. Well, that’s exactly what happened when the two decided to collaborate on Taylor’s new hit single “Me!”.

The music video debuted on April 25th, the day before the single’s official release date on iTunes. With over 142 million views, “Me!” is surely a hit with Swift’s fans. Her past videos like “Blank Space” and “Shake It Off” have accumulated over one billion views, with this one not too far behind. The video includes several sequences of the surreal by starting off with a close up shot of a somewhat intimidating pink snake, who miraculously evolves into a kaleidoscope of butterflies. This CGI opening moment is followed by a quite argumentative exchange between Swift and Urie in French. What comes next is rather surprising, as the camera follows Swift through what appears to be a castle-esque home, while she sings along to an upbeat pop track. The video surely isn’t shy of color, with aspects of melting pink dresses, pastel suits of every color you could think of, as well as rainbow cobblestone streets.

Music fans with an attentive eye might notice that the city-scape scenes of dancing extras through the streets seem to channel Panic! At the Disco’s video for “Nine in the Afternoon” as well as The 1975’s “Sincerity is Scary”. By choosing to dress in a canary yellow suit, Swift shows that she’s proud to be seen as a strong working woman, while Urie channels his inner Mary Poppins, by floating around on an umbrella, over the city, until he meets up with Swift on a rooftop. The last half of the video takes us through the rest of the trials and tribulations of Swift and Urie’s tumultuous relationship. It does so while also paying tribute to past pop culture staples, such as musical performances that might have been seen on the Ed Sullivan show. 

Neither Swift nor Urie are strangers to success, with both of their careers dating back to the early 2000s. The overall response to the video and collaboration in general have been monumental, whether negative or positive. Most recently, the pair opened this year’s Billboard Music Awards on NBC with a performance of Me!  

If you liked the song, check out our Pop Art Playlist on Spotify that has music just like this song, and lots more.