Viewers everywhere were shocked, surprised and genuinely moved when drag star Sasha Velour battled her way to the crown in the season 9 finale of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
In one of the most gag-worthy lip syncs of all time, the avant garde queen removed her wig only to allow a waterfall of rose petals cascade down her shaking body. Meric Long, the pop artist behind FAN, was watching that night when Velour snatched the crown, and said that he was mesmerized by the queen’s artistry.
“I couldn’t stop thinking about it for days afterwards, and every time I did I could literally feel this surge of energy well up inside me,” the singer said in a statement to Billboard. “I couldn’t believe the amount of energy transferred across television waves.”
Long wanted to recreate that energetic feeling with his new video for the appropriately-titled track, “Velour.” The clip shows someone carefully watching an eccentric, brightly-colored performer through a series of different formats — via television, binoculars, from behind curtains and shades, and even from a speeding car.
“I see it as an extension of that same idea, the transference of energy across screens and how we come to have these big emotions about people we watch and never know,” Long said.
Watch the full video for “Velour” below.