Every Friday, I rummage through Spotify looking for new artists to enjoy. While I am not the most thorough of listeners, I do enjoy the roulette approach where if a name grabs me, whether it be song or artist, I press ‘play’ and see if I can make it to the end without losing interest. A few weeks back now, I found one title that grabbed me. The artist was Number One Popstar and the song was “Dance Away the Pain.” Was this going to be an ironic number, whose soundscape was not at all poppy, or would it be something more sincere? I’m not the best judge of music, but I had to indulge.
Maybe it’s because of how randomly I select music, but my initial impression was skeptical. Working my way through dozens of sincere 20-somethings singing of depression, I was convinced that this was a lame attempt to be cool. Everything was over-produced and the way that Kate Jean Hollowell sang “My depression” ricocheted in a manner that I now recognize as brilliant but thought was misguided at first. Whereas I was convinced initially to ignore the track, something kept drawing me back. Soon it wasn’t just another disposable pop song. It was my most played track of the past two weeks.
There are layers to why I love this song. For starters, I just love the subversion of expectations. As someone who’s longed for more borderline sincere joke songs via Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007), where it could pass as something genuine, it spoke to me directly. The dance track was especially underrated, allowing for harmonies on the bridge that have a funny self-defeating quality to them (notably the inconsequential “Aahh!” halfway through). Then there’s the reality that paralleling sadness with something intrinsically upbeat is a formula for confusion. It makes no sense, but it also allows for this complicated relationship between sadness and the feeling that one can get through the pain if they just danced hard enough. Hollowell’s cries of “The pain! The pain!” have a great falsetto that sells the agony very well.
Before I get into the infectious video that accompanies it, I want to backtrack and introduce a brief profile on Number One Popstar. It’s the music project of Hollowell, known prominently for photography and directing the award-winning short Are They Smiling? along with the music video for Katy Perry’s “Champagne Problems.” Her entire resume has plenty of high points, though I think what initially drew me to her was also an appearance in The Color Wheel (2011) as “Elle, the New Girl.” As a fan of Alex Ross Perry in general, this bode well for me appreciating her work since she had experience with the indie drama scene. Even as the fifth or sixth most recognizable person on that IMDb page, I wanted to believe I was discovering someone brilliant.
From here my research became spotty as I haven’t had time to parse through every interview, but the origins definitely gave me plenty to appreciate. She was also in a punk band called Slut Island who has a whopping one song on Spotify called “HPV” and a concert recording from 2018 on YouTube. They definitely have a fun antagonistic vibe to them and it bodes well for diving into the realm of Number One Popstar, or N1PS for short. Both exist as forms of satire which, as their website proudly proclaims, “I would explain my music first and foremost as the best worst music you’ll ever hear.” Amid a page that feels reminiscent of a Windows 98, it definitely plays up the cheekiness and hides what makes them sublime. They’re so committed to the bit that they also sell “Say no to music” and “Looking for sponsors” themed merchandise on a page that says “You don’t need this stuff but it’s fun.” How true it all is.
Skimming interviews, the rest of the story is rather straightforward. Considered the Andy Kaufman of pop, N1PS was created by Hollowell and her boyfriend as a way to numb the boredom during quarantine. Having lampooned punk music in the L.A. scene, there was a desire to move into pop and give it something new. Hollowell wanted to make dance music that didn’t just appeal to the younger demographic. She wanted to make it for those up to and including those in their 70s. From there, it becomes an interesting question of where you want to jump in as the project first gained prominence when releasing the music video for “Psycho” in October 2020 in which she rode around a seemingly abandoned neighborhood, believing that to live there meant fading into an inescapable mundanity. With aerobics gear, an oversized coat, and an eyepatch, she improvised the video and created the look. Their next significant number was “I Hate Running” which turned more towards satirizing fitness culture through an Olivia Newton John-style execution of motivational lines like “Up, down, side to side/Nothing matters/ We’re all gonna die.” Trust me when I say Hollowell does this much better than it sounds.
Along with a parody infomercial for the self-help book “Work On Yourself, Loser!” there is a commitment to the bit that I genuinely admire. She is intentionally playing a trashy, sometimes deluded figure who has a wild fashion sense and a dream of bettering the world. Given that Hollowell claims that N1PS was always her first and only name for the project, it makes sense that she gave herself glory without really earning it. Even then, it perfectly ties into the impressive mix of light tones with dark themes that runs through the small catalog. Each music video is highly stylized in a way that feels abundantly nostalgic but also intrinsically sad, of someone stuck in a warped sense of the past. Mileage will vary on how funny this lands for most, but again I am very much on board with songs like “Forever 21” taking the forever young concept, and using a retail store as a dance floor to sing about teenage fantasies before (spoilers) being hit by a car. Again, don’t take these videos too seriously. Hollowell surely doesn’t and they’re all the better for it.
Finally, I arrive at the music video for “Dance Away the Pain.” The concept of a younger generation masquerading with a morning brunch crowd is a premise that has been done with some frequency in comedy. However, there’s more layers to everything. For starters, the song’s inspiration comes from exactly where you’d think. In an Instagram post, Hollowell claimed “I made a comedy song that is also a pure pop club dance hit, when I was in a deep depression because that was the only time I felt OK — when I was dry humping the dance floor. I hope this makes you want to fuck up the dance floor too.” If that’s not a Rob Fleming-style excuse for writing a catchy tune then I don’t know what is. In some ways, having an elderly supporting cast only emphasizes that everyone wants to dance away some kind of pain. Finally, most of them are friends she actually met in a Zumba class. See, it works to network everywhere you go.
I am a sucker for how the music video uses plot. Hollowell, donned in a neck brace, is stuck amid a group of brunch residents. Outside of this one injury device, she looks like she’s ready to take care of business: big glasses, suit and tie. She’s a player in the right way. Sure the color scheme may be a bit off, but it’s enough to make her work with a strangely perfect cast. The choreography is rarely complicated and yet it is punctuated so effortlessly as these moments of great visual comedy, such as when Hollowell jams food into someone’s mouth, or the crescendo in the chorus causes everyone at the table to fall over. The breakdown where she sings “Looking in the mirror/Nothing could be clearer” is excellently shot where the supporting cast appears in a mirror behind her one by one. I’m even a sucker for how they lip sync these overdramatic lines. It really does capture the sense of trying to escape mundanity, managing to be comically over the top while tapping into something sincere. I suppose that’s why she’s the number one popstar.
By the finale where everyone is dancing outside, it has won me over. I love watching her glide across a group of celebrating senior citizens with a smile. They’re all dancing away their pain. This is [adult swim] material without the hostility, where everyone clearly is having a great time and in on the joke. It’s also funny if viewed in relation to its name because no way is a video like this going to form a number one popstar. Still, I love that Hollowell swings for the fences and lands on a great character anyway.
As mentioned, I’m kind of in love with Number One Popstar’s trajectory so far. I don’t really get the sense of where everything is going, but there’s enough artistic license taken that I’m always thrilled to discover a new video. It is layered with concepts that should be depressing and self-reflective, but done in such a way that’s undercut but top notch dance productions. Hollowell’s simplicity hides pain and excitement at the same time, where her characters dress in a bizarre mix of business serious and aerobics classes so that she can bust a move. At one point she even plays a cult leader and a retail worker. She’s got so much heart for the working class that shines in her music, and I am really hoping there’s more where this came from.
Even as a work of novelty, I find that it transcends its gimmick well enough to just be a really good song. Overall, I feel that way about most of the music to date. Of everything to do during a pandemic, celebrating creative frustration is probably one of the most worthwhile. Still, I wonder where Hollowell’s 2022 will go from here. Is this building to an album or just a new lampooning single every four months? I don’t know, but whichever direction that is will please me. This came out of nowhere and warmed my heart, and frankly, I’ll do what I can to make it a number one song on streaming single-handedly because it’s definitely worth showing up alongside more established artists to confuse the masses. It’s for the best, really.
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