Alessia Cara - Wild Things

What this video is

Released March 7, 2016, as the second single from Alessia Cara's debut album Know-It-All (Def Jam Recordings), 'Wild Things' arrived at a cultural moment when youth pop was pivoting toward authenticity and anti-mainstream identity narratives. Cara, then 19 and from Brampton, Ontario, built a brand around relatable outsider themes established by her breakthrough single 'Here.' The video's suburban Toronto setting,…

Why it matters

A key visual artifact of mid-2010s indie-influenced mainstream pop, 'Wild Things' demonstrates the commercial viability of documentary-style, low-production-value aesthetics within the Def Jam major-label system. The video helped codify a sub-genre of 'authentic youth pop' videos — handheld,…

The director

Aaron A. is a Canadian music video director known for his work with major Canadian and international pop and R&B artists. His credits include videos for Nelly Furtado, Down With Webster, and Fefe Dobson, establishing him as a prominent figure in the Canadian…