For the new video for Marshmello and Lil Peep's "Spotlight," director Nick Koenig explored the importance of physical items in relationships. "Relationships have a way of overwhelming the meaning and context of physical items to the point of hijacking them," Koenig, a friend of Peep's, said in a statement Monday. "What once was just a household item might now be something that reminds us of that relationship to a point where it overpowers what that item was traditionally meant for." Such objects, Koenig added, possess a "shared significance" for those in the relationship.
"Like Peep's passing, no one got to say goodbye properly but the objects he left us (his body of work both musical and social) remain ours to share in our relationship with him," Koenig (a.k.a. Hot Sugar) said. Previously, Koenig co-directed the video for Peep and Lil Tracy's "Awful Things." The Come Over When You're Sober Pt. 1 single was later covered and released by Good Charlotte in tribute.
Marshmello said the video is what Peep, who died of an accidental fentanyl overdose in November, would have wanted for their collaboration. "For this video I just wanted what Gus would have wanted," Marshmello said. "And I think this is exactly it." Catch the video, starring @ItsLulo, in full up top.
Following Peep's death, his mother—Liza Womack—asked Marshmello to finish the song. Marshmello dropped "Spotlight" in January and added it to his live roster in San Francisco on release night. He dedicated the song to Womack, family, friends, and fans. "Gus will live forever through his music and that is something we should all be extremely thankful for," Marshmello said.
