Mike Posner returns home to shoot music video in Detroit, at alma mater
The Southfield-bred pop singer was on hand to film a performance scene in front of about 400 Groves students, who came to school on a Sunday to help out with the shoot. Nearly every team and club was represented, from the cheerleading and pom-pon squads to the cross country team, of which Posner was a member when he was a student.
Principal Cathy Hurley, who helped organize the shoot on less than a week’s notice, said students at the Beverly Hills school were excited about the return of Posner, who graduated from Groves in 2006. “He’s a big deal,” said Hurley, speaking for the students. “They know Mike.”
“Top of the World,” whose title may be switched to “The Top” by the time it’s released, will be featured on ‘Page 1,’ an EP that Posner is slated to release next month. It’s a pre-cursor to his second album ‘Pages,’ which will likely come out in early 2014.
The Groves scene is one of several set-ups for the video — Posner’s first locally filmed clip — which is being directed by Jon Jon Augustavo, who helmed the “Thrift Shop,” “Can’t Hold Us” and “Same Love” videos for Mackelmore and Ryan Lewis. On Saturday, Posner shot scenes in front of a handful of prominent Detroit landmarks, including the Joe Louis fist, the Spirit of Detroit, Joe Louis Arena (with a cameo from Detroit Red Wings Pavel Datsyuk) and Lafayette Coney Island. Big Sean, who is featured on the song, participated in the Saturday shoot, but was not on hand Sunday.
Scenes also were shot at The Palace of Auburn Hills, in front of a mural of Sean and Posner on Dexter Avenue and Waverly Street in Detroit, and in Posner’s parents’ basement, where he first started making music. The shoot was scheduled to continue Monday at several other notable Detroit spots, including Comerica Park and Posner’s elementary school Bingham Farms.
“The idea is to showcase Mike’s hometown — what his personality is, Detroit, his family, his friends,” Augustavo said. He called the experience “very positive,” and he is working to get Kid Rock to make a cameo in the video.
The Groves shoot found Posner performing the song in the school’s gymnasium in front the students, who filled the gym’s bleachers. Posner taught the students some simple choreography, and cameras rolled while he and the students performed the song several times over.
The shoot lasted around 90 minutes. The students were praised by the crew for their high energy, and Posner was in good spirits during filming.
“This is crazy,” said 25-year-old Posner during a down moment during the shoot. “I can’t believe I went here, and now I get to do this.”
After shooting wrapped, Posner participated in a loose question and answer session with the students, fielding requests to go to homecoming, along with questions about his favorite teachers at Groves and what it was like touring with Justin Bieber. He told the students that Groves’ diversity helped prepare him for college life (Posner graduated from Duke University), and he did a brief a cappella performance of his 2010 hit “Cooler Than Me,” with finger snaps provided by the students. Posner is scheduled to return to the school Tuesday to talk to students about his journey from student to pop star.
More scenes with Big Sean are scheduled to shoot in Los Angeles next month, and the video is due out in late October or early November, Augustavo said.
After shooting wrapped, Posner talked about the meaning behind “Top of the World,” which was produced by Diplo (M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes,” Usher’s “Climax”).
“It’s about being grateful for how far you’ve come, but still being hungry for more,” Posner said. “Which is a very tough tightrope to walk. Because you can be driven, but you downplay your own accomplishments. Like, ‘man, that really wasn’t anything, I haven’t done anything yet.’ Or, ‘man, I’ve done so much, I’m good.’ But if you can find that sweetspot, to where you can be like, ‘I’m proud of what I’ve done, but I’m going to keep going,’ I feel like that’s the trick in life.”
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Behind the Scenes > On the set of Mike Posner ft. Big Sean “Top of the World” Music Video
