Mikky Ekko Soundtracks Ridiculous Audition in New ‘Fame’ Video

Mikky Ekko provides the music for an aspiring star’s tantrum in the new video for “Fame,” the title-track off the singer-songwriter’s latest album. “Fame” is a tender piano ballad that tackles the pitfalls of celebrity with humor and grace, and it provides the perfect soundtrack to the video, which centers around a young performer in drag auditioning for a role. The audition gets off to a peculiar start as the performer moves through a surreal dance, but a madness soon sets in as the performer begins crawling over furniture and even beating up one of the producers.

Ekko shared a brief statement about “Fame” with KCRW, where the video premiered. “‘Fame’ is deeply personal for me,” he said. “I was in a strange place, emotionally, when we (Justin Parker and I) were writing. Looking back ‘Fame’ was a real moment of clarity for me.”

Ekko released Fame in November, three years after his 2015 debut, Time. The musician famously broke out in 2012 when he co-wrote and sang on Rihanna’s Unapologetic hit, “Stay.”