Colbie Caillat's "Try" Tells Women and Girls to Be Themselves
By Wendy Widom
Colbie Caillat has a simple yet powerful message for women and girls: you can be exactly who you are, imperfections and all.
Her new music video, "Try," from the EP Gypsy Heart, challenges the notion that women need fake eyelashes, hair extensions and a size 0 body to be beautiful.
Starting with a group of glammed up women, including Caillat, the video takes them through a journey of internal self-discovery and ultimately joy, as they transform back into their natural selves.
The Internet roared in approval, with the video garnering over 6 million YouTube views in less than a week.
In an Elle interview Caillat reveals that, somewhat surprisingly, it was a man – producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds – who encouraged her to write about the pressure she feels to conform to Hollywood's punishing standards of beauty.
"When you have blemishes on your skin, gain weight, or my friend has crooked teeth, or my mom's roots are going gray. And everyone is trying to hide their faults from each other when we all have it. So Babyface inspired me to write this and it's all from a personal experience."
Caillat's "Try" joins an ever-growing cache of female-centered videos seeking to empower women and girls.
Last month Procter & Gamble, piggybacking on the popular #LikeAGirl movement, created a video for its Always brand that has reached almost 35 million YouTube views. It was inspired by results of a study showing girls experience a drop in confidence once they begin puberty.
