Royal South is a relatively new independent band on the contemporary country music scene. This harmonious trio consists of SaraBeth as vocals, Glen Mitchell as guitar and Vickie Vaughn as bassist and additional vocals. All three members come from very different backgrounds; Before coming to Nashville, SaraBeth grew up singing in Garland, Texas and Vickie brings her bluegrass soul and Grand Ole Opry experience from Kentucky. Glen has been professionally playing in Nashville for almost twenty years teaming up with A-list artists like Darius Rucker, Frankie Ballard and even the band Lonestar. Even though Tennessee is now his stomping ground, he hails all the way from Rayleigh, Essex in the UK. Paired up with producer Paul Worley and his resume with artists such as the Dixie Chicks, Lady Antebellum and Martina McBride, this powerhouse music group is setup for success.
This harmonious trio are bringing their very distinctive sound to the world and it has been received very well. Their debut single ‘Cry, Cry’ was released in January 2019 hitting #1 on the UK iTunes Country Chart as well as #2 on the US iTunes New Country Chart. They were even nominated for multiple British Country Music Awards including Best International Touring Act and Best International Song. In 2020, Royal South released an EP called ‘Acoustic Origins’ which included low-key romantic song ‘I Don’t Wanna Want You’. This single is different from the normal love song that we are used to hearing from our country stars. Instead, it’s about feeling so strongly for somebody and not wanting to accept these feelings. I think this is a situation all Royal South fans can relate to. This song has a subtle uplifting beat but with it’s main focus being on the vocal harmonies of the trio and this element is what makes this country pop group so special.
Royal South is no stranger to using high quality lyric videos for their music. Considering lyric videos are so impactful at conveying a musician’s brand or the energy of a particular song to their fanbase, the video released for ‘I Don’t Wanna Want You’ is no different. This music video uses some unique components to portray the romantic undertones of the song. Immediately, the viewers are honed in on the distinctive paper-cut out theme. Multiple images of couples together doing different things such as hugging, bike riding and kissing are shown throughout the lyric video but have been roughly cut out as if from a magazine and have been placed on cute matching backgrounds. The cut outs also have an identical silhouette behind them that is filled in with a solid color giving the 2-dimensional visuals more depth.
The lyrics are displayed in different font styles and colors and some are even boxed in and overlapping the images which almost gives the entire lyric video the appearance of a young woman’s scrapbook. As we flip through the pages, we are told the story of her feelings for the guy in her life and how she wishes she didn’t have them. Some of the images have 2 or 3 similar shots and when shown one after the other, plays a small stop-motion style scene of romance. Instead of just having the visuals and the lyrics on the screen from the start, this professional lyric video uses fun transition effects. We see the pictures slide up from the bottom of the screen or the lyrics drop from the top as they are sung as if the viewers have opened a page in a pop-up storybook. This is my favourite element of this fun country video because I haven’t quite seen anything like it before and is the exact reason why I love this new band.
Royal South is a fresh new sound in the world of country and bluegrass and their song ‘I Don’t Wanna Want You’ will leave you singing the catchy chorus over and over. The lyric video brings a young woman’s emotional struggle to life using some unique visual techniques that tell a story of a flirty dynamic that we have all experienced. This video captures the warmth you feel at the beginning of a blossoming relationship and that is precisely how I feel as I watch Royal South grow and release their debut music to the world.
Check out ‘I Don’t Wanna Want You‘ on Royal Republic’s YouTube Channel here: