Nickelback - Rockstar

What this video is

Released in 2007 as accompaniment to a strategic re-release of a 2006 single, 'Rockstar' arrived at the cultural inflection point where YouTube virality, iTunes video downloads, and MTV's residual programming power converged. The video's format — rapid lip-sync segments divided among over 100 participants across global cities and celebrity cameos — functioned as an early crowdsourced visual spectacle before…

Why it matters

Represents the apex of the post-grunge/pop-rock cameo-format video tradition, synthesizing the satirical rockstar-mythology genre (traceable from The Byrds and Joe Walsh through Dire Straits) with 2000s celebrity-culture spectacle. The mosaic lip-sync structure was highly influential in…

The director

Grammy-nominated music video director based in Los Angeles. Studied filmmaking in New York before relocating to LA and co-founding the directing collective SKINNY. His portfolio spans Jack White, Ke$ha, Lenny Kravitz, Pharrell, Passion Pit, Marina and the…