Why Lindsay Ell Didn’t Play Guitar In ‘wAnt me back’ Music Video

Lindsay Ell’s music video for her latest single, “wAnt me back” tells the story of a singer, played by Ell, who debuts on a talk show as a solo artist after exiting a musical duo with a toxic partner. The story follows the duo, called Eddie & Ell, as they get in an argument prior to a show and end up disbanding. Ell then comes back to the show as a solo artist, where she triumphs onstage without him.

Dressed in a sparkly evening gown, Ell steps on the stage to make her debut, but one thing is missing: her signature electric guitar. In fact, the only electric guitar is seen towards the beginning of the video, and it’s being played by her ex-partner. Ell took to social media to explain that filming the video without her guitar was her way of expanding her artist image and it’s also a metaphor for the story the video is telling.

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I am a guitar player and most of you guys know that… In fact, sometimes it feels like it’s the only thing that people equate with me.  So I’ve been making a conscious effort to not always have a guitar in every shot so that fans can just see me for me.   I love being a guitar player, it’s truly part of my voice and who I am….but equally I love being an artist, singer, songwriter, lyricists, painter, athlete, philanthropist and well-rounded woman.  In my video for ‘wAnt me back’ I made the choice to not play guitar for this one video, but instead inserted a single quick shot of my old duo partner playing the guitar in our dressing room.  It was meant to be a metaphor for him holding onto my power.  True to the message in the song, my character in the video recognizes her own power and steps out on her own. Without her male counterpart and without her guitar.  Whatever you do, don’t let anyone else hold your own power. ✨ If you haven’t yet seen the video for #wAntmeback, link is in bio.

A post shared by Lindsay Ell (@lindsayell) on Oct 19, 2020 at 2:00pm PDT

“I am a guitar player and most of you guys know that,” she wrote alongside an Instagram post showing a photo of her in the gown. “In fact, sometimes it feels like it’s the only thing that people equate with me. So I’ve been making a conscious effort to not always have a guitar in every shot so that fans can just see me for me.”

She continued, explaining how the use of the guitar serves as a metaphor for the song, which is about a man wanting his ex back after breaking her heart.

“In my video for ‘wAnt me back’ I made the choice to not play guitar for this one video, but instead inserted a single quick shot of my old duo partner playing the guitar in our dressing room,” she wrote. “It was meant to be a metaphor for him holding onto my power. True to the message in the song, my character in the video recognizes her own power and steps out on her own. Without her male counterpart and without her guitar.  Whatever you do, don’t let anyone else hold your own power.”

“wAnt me back” appears on Ell’s latest album, heart theory, which was released on August 14.