Steve Aoki and BTS’ Game-Changing ‘Waste It On Me’ Video Enlists All-Asian Cast
DJ-producer Steve Aoki dropped the music video for his BTS-assisted single "Waste It On Me" Monday (November 19) and we can't help but immediately notice something awesome about the visual.
The video features some of Hollywood's biggest names, like actor and comedian Ken Jeong, 13 Reasons Why star Ross Butler, actress Jamie Chung, model and actress Devon Aoki, and more, teaming up for an epic night out. Yep, the entire cast is Asian-American, and we are HERE. FOR. IT.
While the video's plot is rather simple and lighthearted – the aforementioned cast are fatefully brought together for a giant karaoke session – the message and concept are arguably game-changing for a major American music video.
While Crazy Rich Asians was a huge hit at the box office and a big win for Asian representation in Hollywood, there's still a lot farther to go when it comes to Asian representation in American media, especially in popular music.
For decades it seemed nearly impossible for the average American to name more than one or two Asian acts who had a major impact on U.S. music charts and radio. While that's gradually changing, there's much more room for progress.
Today, acts like Aoki himself, Bruno Mars (who is of Filipino and Puerto Rican descent), Nicole Scherzinger (Native Hawaiian-Filipino descent), and a handful of Korean crossover acts like BTS, Girls' Generation, EXO, BlackPink, Twice, BIGBANG, 2NE1, and more, are proving there is a place for Asian acts. However, in the grand scheme of today's popular music, there still aren't very many Asian artists truly "making it" in the U.S. music scene.
Aoki teaming up with BTS for this bop was already an awesome move in the right direction for representation and unity among Asian artists. To release a video for the track featuring an All-Asian cast elevates the message and its power to another level.