Bruno Mars's song "Finesse" had a major glow up last night. Released as a part of his 24k Magic album in 2016, the song flew under the radar. But now there's a remix, and it's hard to ignore. For the remix, which was released last night, Mars added Cardi B and gifted us a buoyant, In Living Color-inspired video. It's the best thing to happen in 2018 so far and, goddamnit, we're going to relish it.
"This video is dedicated to one [of] my favorite TV shows of all time," Mars wrote on Twitter just before the music video dropped. At the end of the video, a title card reads: "Dedicated to In Living Color."
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This video is dedicated to one my favorite T.V shows of all time
— Bruno Mars (@BrunoMars) January 4, 2018
From Mars's light wash jeans to Cardi's slime-green crop top, the video is a pitch-perfect tribute to the sketch show. Even the choreography has the bouncy, childish feel of '90s-era dancing. (Think Carlton's swinging dance move from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air or even the herky-jerky style of Footloose.) Plus, there's the iconic Teddy Riley-style jack swing beat lining the song.
The music video has Twitter in hysterics because, to quote Bruno Mars, it's dripping in finesse.
Gabourey Sidibe shared that the video made her cry. "I don’t know why," she wrote. "Maybe it’s the In Living Color theme... I.... It.... it’s just so wonderful....Emotions are so stupid!"
This Bruno Mars and Cardi B video for Finesse, literally made me cry and I don’t know why. Maybe it’s the In Living Color theme... I.... It.... it’s just so wonderful....Emotions are so stupid!
— Gabby Sidibe (@GabbySidibe) January 4, 2018
When the video opens, Cardi B and Mars are playing with paint brushes. They "paint the camera," if you will, throwing paint across the screens. The scene is a direct reference to In Living Color's season 1 intro, which featured each cast member "painting" the screen. (See below.)
Some Twitter users are already drawing a comparison to Disney Channel's iconic light-swipe intros. You know the ones — when a Disney Channel star would wave a wand at the screen in order to recreate the Disney logo? (Disney's intros were likely inspired by In Living Color, which ran from 1990 - 1994.) Give Cardi a wand and she might as well be Hilary Duff.
The video, though, is more '90s than '00s, so back off, Disney Channel. Let the aughts nostalgia go back to sleep — we're stuck in the '90s for now.
Watch the full music video, below.
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