Review: Christina Grimmie's Without Him music video | "Let Your Feel Follow Your Heart"

The Without Him music video is the last in the series of The Ballad of Jessica Blue. I love the song especially the rap part (I have memorized it, just because LOL). So, I really hoped that I would equally love the mv of the song.

We start with Jessica in the studio. She’s on her piano. Jessica and the producer have a conversation. And it’s pretty rad and amazing that the wisdom at the beginning and ending of this mv are actually smooth. I think, those two parts are the gem of this mv. It pretty much outshines the rest of the shots throughout the mv.

“I’m looking for my voice.”

“That’s funny because I just heard it. Listen, let your feet follow your heart.”

We first heard the quote “let your feet follow your heart” in the Snow White MV and it was said by one of Jessica’s bestfriend. That line is mentioned twice here in Without Him. The producer said this to Jessica and then she will say this to Luke at the end of the video. We are going to talk more about Luke later.

Again, Christina has been so consistent with her facial expressions. She’s always on point whether when she’s in a conversation or she’s just singing the song. I think she really pulled off her lines and acting in general.

We see her going to her showcase. Now, I noticed what she’s wearing. I actually like the blue jacket and the pants. However, the white top is just… not the most flattering. I wish whoever thought of it realizes that she/he could have done better. I really love everything that she wore in the whole series. The white top in this video is the only thing I didn’t like.

The close-up shots though…. She looks so white/pale. The shade of her lipstick really suits her the best. But I think, she looks the best when there’s lesser make-up. They should have toned it down a bit. It kinda is too much.

I love this shot. The angle is perfect. I appreciate it. Thank you very much.

When you really feel the song… and you sing it with all your heart…. You really tend to close your eyes. No lip sync needed as per usual for Christina. 

But like I said every single time for the last month, those shots with her eyes closed are not what I want to stare at. I would always feel to say “Wake up Christina.”

This shot is so romantic though. She was thinking of him while seating on the stairs. I couldn’t help but gush. I may be blushing. This is coming from someone who prefers to read detective/mystery/suspense/thriller than romance novels.

The hands intertwined is giving me… well… The Notebook feels. Aww! I thought that it is just making me want to hold hands so tightly too. I got to say, I enjoyed it.

Grandma is definitely my favorite character in the whole series LOL Sorry, Jessica. I really love her. Words are not enough to describe how much though. I love her relationship with Jessica. It warms my heart to see them like that. It was so sweet. Of course, we expected her to be in the showcase. She has to support her talented granddaughter.

Christina, don’t look at me like that. Her stare is just piercing right through me. Those eyes are just…

I get it that Christina love performing on stage for her fans. I appreciate that we can see her being so comfortable doing that. It also reflects with what’s in the Deception MV where she almost played the piano the whole MV. However, I actually think that they showed too much of her singing on stage.

It leads to what I least liked here in this MV. The depth, especially the symbolism, of the previous MVs was not as evident in Without Him. I’m a poet… so I love when someone is being figurative and so creative/artistic with things. I love it when there’s much more than what’s on face value. And this is what is missing in the Without Him MV. It doesn’t mean that it takes away the quality. It’s just… there’s got to be more.

Christina is standing in front of a wall and what seem like a lot of logos or quotes/lines. 

It was pointed out to me by Ben that it can be a sponsoring thing. At first, I actually didn’t give much attention to the wall and everything that’s on it. But since he asked of what I think about it… If you can see a brand/label/company there, it literally is for advertisement. It will make sense that it’s been sponsored by. But there are several lines/quotes that can also be seen on the wall. The one that caught my attention is actually the word TRUTH, which is just near Christina’s head. I wouldn’t explain much.

I don’t think that it’s a negative thing. There really might be something about it. Christina would not just stand in front of a random object without some kind of significance. If it represents the music industry and Christina’s need to be under a music label to really further her singing career… I would not be surprised at all. I really love that word TRUTH though. That’s very smooth.

If you love the song Without Him as much as I do, you are aware that GOD is mentioned three times. At the same time, if you are a fan of Christina, you also know how her Faith was. I won’t use the word religion because I don’t think Christina refers to her faith as a religion. This is why I also relate to her. I wouldn’t know how deep exactly Christina’s personal relationship with Jesus was. What I know is that she loved Him and she was not ashamed to talk about it. She would tweet about it. She would mention it in her YouTube videos. If the testimonies of her family and closest friends are to be taken into account, I have to say, I would also want a relationship with Him as deep as what she had with Him. I am sure, she’s enjoying herself up there. She’s with Him.

If you haven’t noticed in her previous MV Deception, there was a screenshot of grandma’s hand with a cross bracelet. There were also instances when Jessica would look up as if she’s talking to God or praying. And here in the Snow White MV, it’s almost the same. These are only subtle hints. They are not too obvious and I understand why it has to be like that. Not all of Christina’s fans share the same faith as hers and they might be repelled to see such things. As if “God” mentioned in Without Him three times is not enough… They might find it too much for them to bear. For me, I love these shots because somehow, Christina was able to bring her faith into the MV. Like what she said in her Younow stream in February when they were shooting the MVs, she would always try to put Jesus along with her music and career. That brings tears to my eyes, to be honest. Watching her pray or say that… It’s indescribable.

I also think, like Ben suggested, that the HIM in Without Him can actually have a double meaning. “This life ain’t meant to be lived without him” I remember when she sang this part of the song in one of her Younow streams, she pointed up at the HIM word. I think that it’s possible… him might be a guy and Him can also be Jesus. Again, I wouldn’t be surprised at all. It’s not impossible.

This is so cute. She winks. It melts my heart.

Now, back to Luke. Let’s listen to their conversation first, shall we?

“So, you didn’t get the grant?”

“No, I got it. I just needed to see you before I left. Maybe, we can…”

“Let your feet follow your heart.”

The conversation of Luke and Jessica, for me, is not a negative but a positive thing. Jessica was the first one to approach him. When she asked him that question, she sounded genuinely concern for him. It’s not something that she would say if he actually cheated on her like what the Anybody’s You MV tried to show. I have always said this in my blog post review of that MV: that twist/revelation in my own interpretation explains that since she is having an identity crisis… she’s doubting herself… It was all in her mind. Luke didn’t cheat on her. If you want the full explanation, read that blog post here. She saw her face because she thought that he would be happier with someone else. And that someone else is a ‘better’ and different version of her present self.

At the end of their conversation, I saw her smile. That smile is wide too. It doesn’t look forced or unreal. He also smiled. So, really, there was no awkwardness. The moment Jessica said this quote to him “let your feet follow your heart” is very telling. She has herself already figured out. No self-doubt. No over thinking.  

I was anxiously waiting for this MV, one reason is for me to be able to put the story together. Since I love writing poems and short stories… I am really interested in how the whole story will play out throughout the series. And how I interpreted that twist/revelation along with everything that we have got from the MV, I am happy that I'm indeed a writer at heart. The depth and meaning… I am mind blown.

When she reunited with her friends and they were holding hands… that was really heart-warming.

I think, there could have been a better end for this MV but… I can’t exactly pinpoint how it should be. Maybe, a more apparent resolution of the conflict of the whole story in the series. I still like this last shot though.

Overall, I love it. If I’m going to rate this MV, the ranking will be like this: 1. Snow White (9.5/10) 2. Deception (8/10) 3. Without Him (7.8/10) and 4. Anybody’s You (6/10)

This is definitely bittersweet. I’m going to miss waiting for another MV to drop. Or recording a review in YouTube. Or writing a review here in my blog. I’m not sure how I will handle it after this.

I have watched the first trailer for The Matchbreaker. It seems good enough. I wish there were more snippets of Christina’s character, Emily. So far, with the scenes that we saw of her, it look so promising. The way she acted as Jessica throughout the entire The Ballad of Jessica Blue series… I think, when we watch her in this movie, we will all be like “she could have been a talented actress too.” Yup. Christina’s career was really on the verge of greatness… It’s such a shame that it got derailed. The loss just got more evident now. But, heaven gained an angel… so, I guess for us, we will see her there.