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Kamryn Clark

English Composition II

Professor Leonard

20 February 2021

Lovefool

Released in 1996, The Cardigans’ song “Lovefool” quickly became a charting hit. With a

nautical theme for the music video, the band is pictured trapped inside a bottle as it floats to

shore. Utilizing the same chorus while updating other lyrics to fit his style, Justin Bieber released

the song “Love Me” in 2009. With clips from concerts, rehearsals, meet and greets, and simply

clips of Bieber himself, the “Love Me” music video shows Bieber’s appreciation toward his

opportunities as a musician. While “Lovefool” by The Cardigans and “Love Me” by Justin

Bieber share a similar style, their claims widely differ; “Lovefool” focuses on the claim that one

shouldn’t waste time in a relationship with a partner who only pretends to care, while “Love Me”

merely serves as a tribute to Bieber’s fans.

Through both the images and the lyrics, the “Lovefool” music video radiates feelings of

longing and despair. This mood is established from the beginning of the video, as it opens on the

image of a woman reading a newspaper article titled “Man Lost at Sea. Feared Dead.” In the

second clip of the video, a man on a deserted island is shown placing a message in a bottle and

sending it off to sea; this is the bottle that the band is pictured in throughout the song.

Throughout the video, images of the woman passionately staring at the ocean are shown, and, as

the song progresses, the bottle makes its way toward the woman, who receives the message as

the song fades out.

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Contrasting the loneliness found in “Lovefool,” the music video for “Love Me” is more

upbeat, showing happiness and gratitude. Mainly featuring images of Bieber singing in front of a

white backdrop, the video also puts a focus on Bieber’s fans. With cheerful clips of concerts, the

“Love Me” music video displays a more optimistic approach to the song.

The Cardigans’ “Lovefool” and Justin Bieber’s “Love Me” contain the same musical

theme, with the lyrics “Love me, love me, say that you love me. Fool me, fool me, go on and

fool me” overlapping between the two songs. In the “Lovefool” music video, these lyrics are

interpreted in a more literal sense; the woman isn’t ready to give up the man on the island, so she

begs the man to “pretend that [he] love[s] [her]” and to “just say that [he] need[s] [her].” While

similar lyrics are present in the song “Love Me,” the music video doesn’t interpret them in a

literal sense, but rather uses them as an upbeat backdrop to the images shown.

In order to convey the different messages, each video utilizes differing styles of

cinematography. Particularly, “Lovefool” uses dim lighting to demonstrate a dark romance,

while “Love Me” uses bright lights to simply show the story of Bieber and his fans. In the music

video for “Lovefool,” the woman is featured constantly staring out to sea. While images of the

band inside the bottle are bright, whenever the woman is shown the lights dim and the viewer

gets an eerie feeling. Even after receiving the message, the lighting remains the same; she’s

surrounded by darkness, with the only light being a dull sunset behind her. This dreariness shows

the woman’s despair and loneliness; she feels lost without the man and needs to hear that he

loves her, even if he’s lying. The darkness of the music video emphasizes the claim that, even if

it hurts to leave, it’s better to not be trapped in a one-sided relationship, as this only causes

despair.
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Contrastingly, Justin Bieber’s “Love Me” is full of bright lights and pleasant moments.

The main clips of the music video show him in front of a white backdrop; a setting full of bright,

white lights. In between these clips, videos of Bieber at concerts, meet and greets, and rehearsals

are shown. In each of these settings, the energy is extremely positive and uplifting, rather than

dark and dreary as shown in “Lovefool.” The brightness of his video shows Bieber’s gratitude

for his journey as a musician, and, by featuring his fans in many clips, Bieber shows appreciation

for those who have supported him. In the music video “Love Me,” the bright lights and the

emphasis that is given to Bieber’s fans demonstrates the claim that Bieber is grateful for his fans

and the opportunities they have given him; the song merely serves as a catchy, upbeat

background for the images.

Both videos appeal to pathos, making the viewer feel curious and romantic, as in

“Lovefool,” or excited and nostalgic, as in “Love Me.” In “Lovefool,” the message in the bottle

brings a sense of curiosity to the viewer, as they strive to figure what it says. This music video

also evokes feelings of romance; the viewer can feel the passionate connection and the longing

the woman has towards the man. These emotions appeal to a young, romantic audience of girls in

their later teenage years. In “Love Me,” Bieber’s bright lights, dance moves, and upbeat rhythm

make the viewer feel a sense of delight, and the video clips shown from old concerts, meet and

greets, and rehearsals also give a sense of nostalgia to the viewer. Resulting from this appeal to

pathos, “Love Me” also interests a young audience, with this group being females in their pre or

early teenage years.

Although appealing to similar audiences, “Lovefool” and “Love Me” portray different

claims through the stories they tell. The dim lights of The Cardigans’ “Lovefool” shows the

woman’s entrapment in her relationship; they develop the theme that, even if painful to leave,
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toxic situations only cause darkness. Contrastingly, the bright lights of Justin Bieber’s “Love

Me” show his gratitude and excitement, developing the claim that Bieber appreciates the support

he’s received from his fans. Through the same lyrics in the chorus and a similar musical theme

throughout, “Love Me” puts a new, upbeat spin on “Lovefool,” with each video demonstrating

their differing claims.

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Works Cited

Bieber, Justin. “Love Me.” Youtube, 5 Aug. 2010, https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=qdDVtFvJwUc. Accessed 20 Feb. 2021.

The Cardigans. “Lovefool.” Youtube, 24 Nov. 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=NI6aOFI7hms. Accessed 20 Feb. 2021.