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GE made a music video about ‘energy and the flow of it’

GE made a music video about ‘energy and the flow of it’

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But my favorite Dance Moms cast member is in it

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General Electric has just released a music video about “energy and the flow of it,” featuring a song by EDM artist Gryffin and a cameo by Mackenzie Ziegler. According to a PR rep for GE, the video’s official premiere was at 6AM this morning at a three-hour yoga and dance party at a nightclub in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Gryffin is best known for collaborations with Scottish pop band Chvrches and Australian YouTube-star-turned-pop-singer Troye Sivan. Mackenzie Ziegler is the younger sister of Maddie Ziegler, the frequent muse and sometimes avatar for reclusive pop star Sia, and both were once the meme-worthy young stars of TLC’s Dance Moms. Mackenzie, in my opinion, was way more fun, as she basically admitted she hated dancing, plus her teeth were a little messed-up and very adorable. Good for her, getting that sweet GE money.

The song, called “Illuminate,” is fine. The video, which “showcase[s] the many parts of the power grid through music and movement,” is hard to follow. Beams of light make up windmills, solar panels, nuclear reactors, and the aforementioned power grid, while the accompanying text reads, “We work to move the grid because the grid moves us all.” The lights from the various GE energy sources outline the dancers’ limbs while they move, implying (in tandem with the text) that GE powers the muscles of human bodies, pulling on their bones. That is true in some situations: when someone’s interacting with a defibrillator, or wearing a pacemaker.

GE powers your muscles, fyi

Why did GE do this? Good question. GE sent me this music video in an email with the subject line, “Why is GE collaborating with an EDM artist and dance troupe?” and then proceeded to answer its own question with this: “In the next 20 years, there will be nearly an 80 percent increase in the demand for electricity. As an expert supplier of a third of the world’s power, GE’s role in maintaining the flow of energy through the electric grid is critical. This complex transmission is a choreographed dance that happens invisibly, everyday.This metaphor works for me kind of, but I’m also a little freaked out now about the world’s energy demands.

Enjoy! It’s 45 seconds long.

Update: Updated June 6th 11:15 AM EST to include media brief from GE.