Exclusive Premiere: Rohan Solomon Warns of the Travails of Fame in ‘Victoria’s Secret’ Video

Songs that reflect on the empty glitz and glamor of celebrity lifestyles may be dime a dozen, but New Delhi/New York artist Rohan Solomon knows the message can always be powerful. What’s more, his latest track “Victoria’s Secret” was originally written in 2011, when the frontman of erstwhile rock band Cyanide had hit a writer’s block.

Solomon adds, “I posted on the Cyanide Facebook page asking our fans for cool ideas for a song. I made it a sort of a contest where whoever’s idea I picked could get on a Skype call with me as I wrote the song.” Using the prompt of “sad eyed angel” given by a fan, the call led to a more detailed take on the idea and “morphed into the idea of a celebrity facing the perils of fame,” Solomon says.

The string section-aided ballad features acoustic guitars but also gives writing credits to Cyanide bandmates including drummer Srijan Mahajan, guitarist-producer Nikhil Malik and bassist Sid Mathur. Solomon adds, “The first draft of this song in 2011 was a bit heavier with distorted guitars and even had a guitar solo, but I think the orchestration and the symphony and the overall story telling vibe of this 2020 version fits like a glove and allows the listener to feel more connected with the story.” Narrated solely by the singer’s voice with no additional vocal harmony layers, the video directed by Arya Jha follows a female protagonist named Victoria who’s at the center of attention everywhere she goes, yet feels distant and detached.

The singer-songwriter adds that although the internal anguish of a celebrity may have been a story told many times over, it’s still relevant considering the age of social media and keeping up facades. Solomon says about who could relate to the song, “They may not be celebrities, they could be a college kid stressed about their exams but put up a happy selfie with a cool filter or a person stressed about their job and putting up pictures of a night out with his/her friends […] The goal here is to try and at least get people to start thinking about who they are or truly want to be, take a bit of time as they do that; once that conversation is started, I hope we can encourage people to accept themselves, be at peace and be happy with themselves.”

Watch the video for “Victoria’s Secret” below. Stream on audio platforms here.