American pop-rock band Maroon 5’s new single ‘Girls Like You’ continues to rise in popularity. The powerful video features 25 inspirational women of different nationalities.
The video is shot in a minimalist style that focuses on the human aspect of the featured personalities and places them, literally, on centre stage. The 1.7 Million views that it has racked up is testament to its wide appeal.
Here is a guide to the bevy of causes that the women in Maroon 5’s pop ballad champion.
Camila Cabello
Camila Cabello is a Cuban-American recording artist, who has recently risen to fame with her solo album Camila (2018), after being part of the girl group Fifth Harmony.
Gal Gadot
Perhaps the most recognisable face in the video, the Israeli actress plays the super-heroine Wonder Woman in the new series of Justice League films.
Lilly Singh
Lilly Singh aka “Superwoman” is a prominent Canadian YouTube star, who posts extremely relatable content reacting to everyday life.
Millie Bobby Brown
The 14-year-old stars in the role of Eleven in the hit Netflix series Stranger Things. Her personality and style shine through in the video.
Ellen Degeneres
The iconic TV show host is a trailblazer and is one of the first few prominent openly gay celebrities. Her cutely awkward cameo is extremely likeable and also underlines how LGBTQ+ people have to make sense of a world that often ostracizes them.
Cardi B
The featured rapper in the single has a number 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 to her credit, and rose to fame through Instagram before becoming a recording artiste.
Amani Al-Khatahtbeh
An American of Jordanian and Palestinian descent, she is the founder of MuslimGirl.com, a magazine for Muslim women.
Mary J. Blige
Winner of 9 Grammy Awards, the rapper has some of the most uplifting lyrics for the African-American community. She has also ventured into a critically acclaimed film career and received two Oscar nominations for Mudbound (2017).
Jennifer Lopez
“J.Lo.” is a multi-talented artiste and has been the face of the Latin-American community in film, dance, and music for two decades.
Ilhan Omar
The Somali-American legislator was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2016, the first from her community to hold a political office in the US.
Behati Prinsloo
The Namibian model has participated in nine consecutive Victoria’s Secret fashion shows in a row, and is the wife of the lead singer Adam Levine. They share a touching moment towards the end of the video as a family, with their daughter Dusty Rose.
And Here’s a List of Others in the Video...
- Phoebe Robinson, African-American comedian
- Aly Raisman, Olympic gymnast, three-time gold medalist
- Sarah Silverman, Comedian, equal-rights activist
- Trace Lysette, Transgender woman, LGBTQ+ rights proponent
- Tiffany Haddish, African-American actress and comedian
- Angy Rivera, Immigration activist
- Franchesa Ramsey, Popular YouTuber
- Chloe Kim, Youngest female Olympic gold medalist in snowboarding
- Alex Morgan, US footballer, Olympic gold medalist
- Beanie Feldstein, Actress, daughter of former Maroon 5 manager, Richard Feldstein
- Jackie Felder, Water conservation activist
- Danica Patrick, Former professional race-car driver
- Elizabeth Banks, Model and actress
- Ashley Graham, Plus-size model and body positivity advocate
- Rita Ora, British singer and philanthropist
Although the song seems to be written in a very generic, pop tone, the video is a celebration of cross-sectional womenhood.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)