Photo: (RCA Records)
Miguel's Grammy-winning hit "Adorn" makes me wanna drink red wine in my lingerie, and do absolutely nothing responsible, but his latest song "Candles In The Sun" and it's accompanying video do the very opposite.
"Candles In The Sun" is both a question and a plea. Miguel sings, "What are we doing?" while black and white images of hurricanes, homelessness, drugs, and guns force us to acknowledge and beg us to right all of the wrongs in this world.
The song and accompanying video are examples at how his album, Kaleidoscope Dream, takes R&B beyond the bedroom. After all, Miguel recently told Ryan Seacrest, he spends 90% of his life NOT in bed. "It's so easy to ignore what's right in front of us sometimes," Miguel told Hypebeast about the video. "I wanted to create a song and visual that addressed my everyday concerns of life as I know it in the world that we live in." And he certainly did just that. The "Candles In The Sun" lyrics and video paint a candid, poignant picture of the following societal issues:
+ Drugs
Miguel uses his lyrics and visuals to highlight drug abuse. Although teen alcohol and tobacco use are down, illicit drug use has increased to over 25% of 12th graders. If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, check out mtvU's Half Of Us for resources.
+ Peace
"Heroes often get shot. Peace has long been forgot," sings Miguel about war and gun violence. The video uses intimidating images of guns and haunting images of police tape to draw attention to our nation's growing need for peace and discussions on gun control. If you want to take a stand against violence, speak out, Tweet out, and ask our government to take a stand! Do Something suggests starting a project to teach gun safety, or organizing a rally in your town.
+ Equality
"They say we're all created equal," sings Miguel. "That's what they teach us, but that ain't how we treat each other." Whether he's referring to social, economic, religious, gender or sexual equality, his message is loud and clear: it's time to love each other.
+ Corruption
Miguel highlights bad business and corruption with lyrics like, "Business and governments just watch as the innocent fade. Mindless bureaucracy fails, hindering government aid." If you are passionate about ending greed and corruption, check out Occupy Wall Street.
+ Poverty
Homelessness is a huge epidemic in the U.S., affecting everyone from vets, to people who have been displaced by natural disasters, to those who live only a paycheck away from the sidewalk. Take action below if Miguel's eerie images of hurricanes and homelessness left you wanting to help out.
