Simona Shao’s debut EP Waves tells a story of heartbreak, healing, and happiness and her music video for the title track brings that emotional journey to life in a visual dreamscape. In this exclusive Celeb Secrets Q&A, Simona opens up about the two-day shoot across LA, how she stepped out of her comfort zone, and a very memorable sock mishap on set.
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Celeb Secrets: The “Waves” music video captures some truly stunning locations from beaches to flower fields. Can you walk us through the shoot day? How did you and your team pull it all together logistically, and what was your favorite moment on set?
Simona Shao: “The music video shoot took place over two days all over LA. We were filming the street and apartment scenes on the first day, and it was a chaotic start, to say the least! Five minutes into filming at our first location on the street, it started pouring rain… which rarely happens in LA and, of course, the rain decided to come down hard that particular day! Luckily, our crew adapted fast and we ran through the shot as many times as possible before becoming totally drenched. This ended up creating a beautiful rain-soaked shot at the very beginning of the music video with me in the street holding a sparkler, which gave a nice nod to the water/waves/ocean theme – so we got something artistic out of it! We had to dry off, redo hair and makeup, and then meet up for the next scene in the apartment, where the finally sun came out and we even saw a double rainbow. This gave us stunning, natural sunlight for the shots by the windows. The next day, we shot at the flower field trail, soccer field, and the beach. Running through the flower fields in Chino Hills was a moment I will never forget, with families hiking and cute dogs having to pass by every so often. We then drove to Palos Verdes, where my closest friends met us for the soccer field and beach scenes. My favorite moment was having all my friends and team together at the beach – dancing, laughing and surrounding me with sparklers.”
CS: This was your first official music video, what were the nerves like going into it? Were there any unexpected challenges or surprises during filming that shaped the final product?
SS: “Honestly, I actually was nervous because I didn’t know what to expect! Luckily, I had an incredible team behind me every step of the way. Originally, I did not think I would be doing any choreography and thought I’d leave that to the professionals… but my director encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone and do it alongside the dancers. My choreographer was absolutely amazing in supporting me throughout the rehearsals and filming, and I’m so glad I ended up dancing alongside them. Even with curveballs that were thrown at us during filming, like the crazy rain or the beach being freezing cold, you would not be able to tell, because the team was so adaptable and professional. I truly have to credit my director, Hanmi, who created and executed the vision behind the music video, and producer, Erika Ito, who kept all of us together and made sure we got every single shot.”
CS: We love the movement and choreography in the video. Whose idea was this and how did you decide which parts to incorporate choreography for?
SS: “My choreographer, Rachel McGovern, was phenomenal at capturing the essence of “Waves” and really did translate my music into choreography that represented the emotional arc of the song, while still letting the main character stand on her own. My director broke down the music video into three parts: heartbreak, healing, and then happiness, and the choreography really reflects this. In the apartment and street scenes, I am down in the dumps after a heartbreak, unable to get out of bed or move, and my friends have to literally drag me out of this slump or hold me up after I fall. The waves in the hand movements from the first shot are my favorite element of the choreography, evoking that I am in a transitory period of my life at that time. During the healing phase of the music video, I’m finding myself again. I’m running through a field of flowers, taking everything in, and reconnecting with friends again. The dancers behind me continue to be my support system in this period. Then, happiness – I am able to let go and be one with the ocean, dancing with friends and finding peace within myself. My choreographer wove in waves symbolism throughout, and addressed each section of the video with the tone of where the main character was emotionally. She made the most of the instrumental breaks by adding choreography to rhythmically accentuate those moments and elevate the themes within the story.”
CS: We hear that you filmed around your hometown of LA. Why was it important to root this visual story in familiar places, and did filming in those locations stir up any personal memories or emotions?
SS: “I was born and raised in LA, and have so much love for my city. It only made sense to showcase all of the beautiful landscapes and climates that exist here. LA is magical, because it really is one of the only places where you can go hike in the mountains, head to the beach, then go out in the city all in the span of a day. Filming in the street was a great full circle moment, because I grew up my whole life in a suburban neighborhood that looked really similar (shoutout to Arcadia), where I’d go ride my bike and play in the streets with my sister. My development as an artist truly led to that moment, filming my first ever music video, and I wanted to just soak it all in (literally, because the rain struck only moments after). The flower fields and beach scenes were simply gorgeous and just reminded me of how lucky I am to live in such a beautiful place. Chino Hills and Palos Verdes are on complete opposite ends of the map, but the fact that both of those stunning locations were just a two hour drive away was crazy. It definitely made me appreciate living here and reminded me of how far I’ve come in my journey as a musician.”
CS: Of course, we are Celeb Secrets. Can you share any secret moment from the shoot day that viewers wouldn’t know? It could be a funny story or something that happened off camera that really stuck with you.
SS: “There were so many funny moments during the music video shoot, but one that really stuck out is when we were shooting the apartment scenes. We rented out a loft in Downtown LA, and were running around in socks for all of the choreography. When the dancers had to drag me across the floor (which we shot many, many times), we started noticing that my socks were literally turning black from the dirt on the floor. For the scenes on the couch and against the wall right after, I had to change socks because of how dirty my socks got, and also give the floor a deep clean before we sat on it while dancing! My director gave all of us a pair of fuzzy socks to commemorate wrapping the music video later on.”
