Someday - Sugar Ray

What this video is

Released September 7, 1999, 'Someday' arrived at the cusp of Y2K cultural reflection — a moment when pop-rock acts were leaning into introspective, melodic songwriting after the aggression of mid-90s alternative. Sugar Ray, who had broken through with 'Fly' (1997) and pivoted decisively toward sun-drenched California pop-rock on album 14:59, used this single to consolidate their mainstream identity. The choice of…

Why it matters

A defining artifact of late-90s pop-rock balladry: the B&W video treatment was a mainstream signifier of emotional sincerity in an era when color-saturated TRL visuals dominated. The rapid editing rhythm (avg 1.92s shot length) applied to slow-motion ballad footage created a visual grammar that…

The director

Born Ahn Jun-hee on October 12, 1972 in Busan, South Korea; raised partly in Livorno, Italy before relocating to Houston, Texas at age 7. Attended NYU Tisch School of the Arts before dropping out to direct music videos. Korean-American director credited with…