Lil Nas X is putting the hos and hos into the holiday season with the hot new release of his latest Christmas-inspired single, “Holiday.” And to really get into the spirit of things, he even transforms into a futuristic Santa Claus in the official accompanying music video.The nearly three-minute video is full of Christmas vibes, but in a far off, 2220 world. It opens on Christmas Eve at the North Pole, as the cameras pan across a gorgeous icy landscape with a giant bust of the rapper meant to be Santa’s Workshop. There, down the chimney, fans meet Lil Nas X as a sparkly silver Santa, sitting at his command chair with a brilliant white beard, mustache and hairstyle that could be straight up from
The Hunger Games.But what would Santa be without his jolly elves? In this music video, co-directed by Gibson Hazard and the rapper, the elves in question are robotic creatures with tablets, pointy gear-ears, and festive green trim. Viewers can spot them as the cameras pan throughout the candy cane and conveyor-belt filled workshop, and as the rapper takes on several other characters including a G.I. Joe-like robot, a Jeep-driving action figure, and a giant elvish creature with rhinestones galore.
About halfway through the video Santa, having probably completed all the toys, hops into an elevator and heads to his sleigh, a.k.a. a super supped up red Dodge Charger led by mechanical reindeer. The back is piled with presents as he flies across America and over several notable “landmarks,” including a refaced Mount Rushmore (complete with an homage to “Old Town Road”), a revamped Hollywood sign (which now reads “Holiday”), the Golden Gate Bridge, the Statue of Liberty, and Times Square.The video dropped in the early hours of November 13 and by the morning it had already been streamed more than half a million times. That could be in part because of the campaign leading up to it. Last weekend during an NFL game the 21-year-old teased the new video in a trailer that included a cameo from Canadian
Back to the Future star Michael J. Fox.
The trailer bridged the memorable “Old Town Road” video with this new one, as the rapper rides up to a drunk Santa stumbling out of a saloon. Nas picks up his hat and in doing so, becomes the next Santa. The bridge to “Holiday” then plays, a horse transforms into a reindeer, and the performer rides off through a portal. “Whatever you do Nas, don’t go to 2020,” Fox says, lowering his hat over his eyes.“Holiday” marks Lil Nas X’s first solo single since he released his eight-track
7EP in June 2019. Earlier this year the rapper and Billy Ray Cyrus won a Grammy for the album’s “Old Town Road (Remix)” track,
winning over other Best Pop Duo/Group Performance nominees like Ariana Grande and Social House, the Jonas Brothers, and Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello. Considering “Old Town Road (Official Movie)” also won the trophy this year for Best Music Video, there may have been a teensy bit of pressure in putting the video together for this new single.In that case, it’s a good thing Santa works well under pressure.[video_embed id='2021405']BEFORE YOU GO: Woman films creepy doll moving on its own[/video_embed]
