Welcome to The Drop, Refinery29's home for exclusive music video premieres. We want to shine the spotlight on women artists whose music inspires, excites, and (literally) moves us. This is where we'll champion their voices.
Lula Miranda’s “Cherry Kiss” is a celebration of female friendship and relationships. In the new video for the track, Miranda and her girl gang dance on a car and spin in circles together. They strip to their underwear and begin to perform a bonding ritual, complete with a (real) snake and cherry juice that shines like blood. The women find connection and solidarity with each other in both the good and bad moments.
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The ritual may seem surprising, especially when contrasted with the more carefree parts of the video, but that's the point — it's an initiation into a new girl group, and a new life, Miranda recently told Refinery29 in an interview. The result is a hauntingly witchy video, reminiscent of Lana Del Rey, who the singer lists as one of her influences.
Miranda's work draws from both Spanish and English influences, she says, and her style incorporates a mix of the two languages. The singer was born in Los Angeles, lived in Canada, and is now based in Buenos Aires. She grew up singing in talent shows and performing in bars; since the release of her 2016 album Stranger, she has toured internationally.
Miranda tells R29 that she wrote “Cherry Kiss” in a day, after having an intense argument. She wanted the video explore “both sides of the story” — the joy and the pain of relationships, and the healing power of a group women around her. She says the song is ultimately about freedom, and enjoying the “different pleasures of life.” The result is a tribute to intimacy in all its forms.
Check out the exclusive debut of "Cherry Kiss," and read more about the video, below.
Refinery29: What inspired the song “Cherry Kiss”?
Lula Miranda: “I wrote it in a day. I had this discussion with someone I really loved, but it was just a really sad argument. I wanted to speak about feeling distant in a relationship and then going back to that place where it was feeling perfect.”
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Throughout the whole video you show strong relationships between women. Could you tell us a bit about that?
“I wanted to show two different sides of the story. One of them was the actual lyrics, talking about a relationship falling apart and wanting to be connected again. We wanted to add another side of the story, which presents the video as an ode to freedom. I wanted to share the video with women who showed support [for each other] and permitted themselves to the different pleasures of life with no prejudice and no fear about the conservative eye.”
I was struck by the contrast between the carefree scenes of the women dancing together, and the ones depicting a ritual sacrifice.
“The contrast was like [she was] stuck to that nostalgic moment, and then a group of powerful women are doing a ritual, inviting her to be part of that free world. [She's] being reborn.”
There’s another scene with bowls of cherries that’s very cool. Obviously, cherries are from the title of the song, but why cherries?
"I didn’t want to write solely about the kiss, so I started looking for a word before it. I don’t know how I came up with “cherry,” but I love the sound of "Cherry Kiss.""
You’ve lived in LA, Buenos Aires, and Canada, among other places. How has this influenced your music?
“I listen to a lot of English, American pop music and I also listen to Latin music. A lot of people have told me I have a Latin vibe. I’m mixing English pop and Spanish pop music together, and also mixing the languages, which is one of the songs that’s gonna come up soon.”
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What was it like working on the video?
“It was very tiring. We took 23 hours to record the video. Usually, in my videos I'm by myself, so being with some dancers was awesome. It was very fun. There was a part where I had a snake on my head which was a bit scary at first, because it kept going into my clothes. Then we just made friends. We were cool with each other. The snake’s name was Brittany.”
This interview has been condensed for clarity and length.
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