Photo By Dylan Siegel
NYC synth-pop artist Charles on TV unveils the official video for his single “This Xmas (I Want You)”, an irony-filled queer love ballad narrating the feeling of being young, naive, and romantically infatuated by a f*ckboy.
The video, directed by Dylan Siegel, fuses themes of post-apocalyptic isolation and playful energy – like a kid exploring the great outdoors, but he’s the last boy on earth. And it’s Christmas. A red rotary telephone is seen in nearly every shot, symbolizing the call that you hope you’ll receive from that late night lover but never do. Charles on TV invites viewers into his lonely world – whether it’s from the top of a silo, inside a chicken coop, his Christmas light tomb or from his lonely tree stump table for two.
“This Xmas (I Want You)” started as a stupid love song. Like, a deliberately kitschy, cringe-worthy love song,” explains Charles. “The romantic Christmas cliche felt right so I ran with that, using a recent, not so great one night stand as inspiration. I can’t pretend I don’t hide pain behind humor. I probably did that here too. This is a song romanticizing empty love—a ballad that shouldn’t be, given the meaninglessness of one evening.”
“This Xmas (I Want You)” is from the artist’s debut EP Truth & Lies, an eclectic 6-track collection narrating the rising talent’s story of becoming an artist in the context of today’s world, one that seems to be filled with constant uncertainties.
