♪ (punk rock music) ♪
I saw this.
Is that Shia LaBeouf?
I thought he was naked for a second; that freaked me out.
Is this a Sia music video?
That's Maddie from Dance Moms.
She looks like she's 10 years old.
She has the weirdest videos.
♪ Oh, why can I not conquer love? ♪
What even?
This is a Sia video everyone's mad about or something.
I watched this with my roommate.
And we were just like, "What?"
♪ I wanted it bad ♪
Um, I didn't know Shia LaBeouf was a modern dancer.
♪ Now another one bites the dust ♪
This is awful acting, most definitely. That's for sure.
No, no, no, no, no. (chuckles)
♪ I'm like a rubber band until you pull too hard ♪
Maddie has goals. She's an amazing dancer.
♪ And I move fast ♪
She looks possessed. Like, possessed.
Okay. I'm assuming this is like a music video.
But why is he in it?
And why is he wrestling with a little girl?
Pretend fighting and now he's a monkey.
(breathes sharply) So strong.
♪ And I know that I can survive ♪
♪ I'll walk through fire to save my life ♪
Are they supposed to be in a relationship?
Like an old man and this little girl?
This is so weird.
♪ You did not break me ♪
This is making me uncomfortable.
What's going on?
This is getting really weird!
This is one of the weirdest music videos I've ever seen.
♪ Thick skin and an elastic heart ♪
Okay, Shia LaBeouf's acting is better here than in Transformers.
Let's be honest.
♪ But you won't see me fall apart ♪
Wait. I just realized the little girl's
probably supposed to represent Sia.
♪ 'Cause I've got an elastic heart ♪
If she can get out, why is she in the cage?
♪ Well, I've got thick skin and an elastic heart ♪
♪ But your blade, it might be too sharp ♪
(laughing) What are they doing?
♪ But you won't see me fall apart ♪
Who was like, "We should have Shia LaBeouf
in a cage with the girl from Dance Moms"?
Like that's a good idea.
Please tell me they're not--
Don't kiss. That'd be weird.
What the hell?
(laughing) Look at his tongue.
(laughs in confusion)
What is this?
♪ I'm like a rubber band until you pull too hard ♪
I guess it's kinda sweet.
I'm just confused. Like, what was the vision for this?
Oh no. He's too buff. He's too buff.
♪ I've got an elastic heart ♪
(song ends)
I feel like this is supposed to be emotional,
but I just think that it's kind of funny.
And then there's that awkward long scene when the music's over.
All right. This is-- this is a little much.
It's a powerful music video,
but I have no idea what it means at all.
Like, I know I feel something, but it's just like--
I feel something here, but here it's just like,
"What the [bleep] was that?"
♪ (punk rock music) ♪
(Finebros) So do you know who the artist was
and what that song was?
I don't know who that artist was.
It sounded like Rihanna.
"Sya" or "Sia."
That was Sia.
"Elastic Heart" by Sia.
(Finebros) The song itself, do you enjoy it?
No.
Not something I'd listen to.
I kinda like it.
Yeah, the song is great.
I enjoy her song "Chandelier."
But I really think I wouldn't have enjoyed the song "Chandelier"
if it wasn't for the music video.
But I feel like it's kinda the opposite for this one.
(Finebros) And what are your thoughts about the music video?
I just don't get it.
Made me feel violated.
Like, this little girl's dancing around with this grown-ass man.
I was confused if they were lovers.
Really odd and funny.
And it made it even more funny, 'cause it was Shia LaBeouf.
It seemed like it had a deeper meaning to it.
But I couldn't get over the fact
that Shia LaBeouf was just chillin' in there.
It was really, like, philosophical, I'd say.
Like, I think there's a whole 'nother meaning to it.
(Finebros) And what do you think they were trying to represent
- in the music video? - I don't know.
This is so weird.
I thought it might be like an abusive relationship.
We're turning into animals now? Maybe.
Your heart bends in many ways.
And some people can get out, but other people can't.
"Hey, I suck at dancing!" "Hey, me too!"
"Let's make a music video!"
That's what it was.
That is rude to all dancers in the industry.
You take that back.
(Finebros) Did you find the video offensive in any way?
I don't think so.
No, why would I?
(Finebros) A lot of people have been
- very offended by this music video. - Why?
Why is that offensive?
Is it because the girl's young and it was an older guy?
(Finebros) They feel that it is pedophilic.
Are they serious?
That's the last thing that came to my mind.
It could also be a relationship between a father and a daughter,
not necessarily like a boyfriend and girlfriend.
I kinda got that vibe at first.
But later on, I kinda felt like it was his daughter.
Maybe 'cause of the age difference,
and they were really touchy-touchy, and it was uncomfortable.
Like, she was climbing him like a tree.
People just taking it way out of proportion once again.
This girl obviously got casted
because she has talent and she can dance.
And then people are just like, "Oh, this is offensive to me.
She's too young to be with this older man in this--"
Like, shut the [bleep] up.
(Finebros) So since Sia came back
to making her own music recently,
she's decided that she won't be in any of her music videos.
And in interviews, she now does them with her back to the camera.
Whaaat?
- Yes. Yes. - Wait, why?
Because I was watching Ellen.
And when she was singing "Chandelier,"
she was in the back corner and Maddie was dancing.
And I was like, "What is going on?"
(Finebros) One of the main reasons is that
she doesn't want to deal with being recognized everywhere
and wants to do what she can to maintain a normal life.
That's awesome. I never thought of that before.
People have seen her face.
Like, if you look up Sia on Google Images, her face will come up.
I think that's really cool. And that's probably smart,
because famous people normally go crazy.
I totally would look up to her for that, because no one,
no famous person I know does that.
- That's pretty crazy. - And I actually really like that too,
'cause it's like, so many stars are like,
"It's all about me 24/7."
So it feels good for another star to come out and be like,
"Look, I don't want this. I just want to do it for my fans."
I thought that with money came arrogance, but, I mean--
Not with her, and that's great.
(Finebros) So finally, this controversy
brings up an interesting conversation.
Horrible things happen to people in the world that,
in recent times, has been talked about more publicly,
which is good, because it raises awareness,
but can result in art being scrutinized, like this video.
Do you feel that artists need to keep that in mind when creating?
I feel like, for some people, it can bring up emotions.
But then again, I feel like other people dig deep into things
just to find something wrong and then exploit it.
Art's going to offend people
regardless of whether or not it has underlying tones.
Art is expressing yourself,
and no one should be held back from that.
If she now doesn't do anything just because of this one video
or she doesn't feel like she can release herself artistically,
what is that?
If she wants to express herself
no matter if it was a pedophile thing that happened to her
or it wasn't, that's her option to express herself.
Okay, well, let's put it like this.
In your music video, you shouldn't have a grown man
making out with a 12-year-old. Like, that is too far.
But when something like this, where she thought in her mind
was like a beautiful-- which it was.
It was a beautiful music video.
You should be never afraid to put out what you want.
And what's in your heart and what you and your mind
and in your imagination want to create,
you should be able to do that without any scrutiny.
You should be able to do that without anyone telling you,
"No, you can't do that, because someone's gonna think like that."
Thanks for watching Teens React, everybody.
To watch bonus footage from this video,
be sure to subscribe to the React channel and check it out.
Let us know in the comments
which music video you want us to react to next.
I'm gonna say goodbye in dance.
Ow. I poked myself in the eye. (laughs)
It was interpretive. (laughs)
♪ (punk rock music) ♪