- 2 years ago
Famed choreographer Richy Jackson shares his favorite moments of working with Lady Gaga on some of her most iconic music videos like "Bad Romance," "Telephone," "Stupid Love," and how they prepared for her Super Bowl performance, what working with JoJo Siwa was like for her song “Karma" and how he helped her matured into this new era, “Rain On Me” being used in Fortnite and what makes the collaboration with Fortnite one of a kind, he also teaches our host Tetris Kelly some of his famous choreography and more!
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00:00And push, push, push, push, hey, oh my God.
00:06Hey, it's Tetris with Billboard News hanging out with
00:11choreographer extraordinaire Richie Jackson.
00:13What's up, my man?
00:14How's it going?
00:15It is going well.
00:16I'm so happy to get into this dance conversation with you
00:18and maybe dance a little bit as well.
00:20Yes, we've got to do that, Tetris.
00:22Let's talk about Fortnite, Lady Gaga, this whole
00:25experience, talk to me as if I'm an idiot.
00:27What is Fortnite, and how do we incorporate Lady Gaga
00:30into this game?
00:30OK, so truth be told, this is my first time ever
00:33experiencing Fortnite.
00:35Let's talk about Fortnite, Lady Gaga, this whole
00:38experience, talk to me as if I'm an idiot.
00:40What is Fortnite, and how do we incorporate Lady Gaga
00:42into this game?
00:43OK, so truth be told, this is my first time ever
00:46experiencing Fortnite.
00:52Obviously, I've heard about Fortnite.
00:53It's such a thing.
00:54Yeah, it's been a thing.
00:56I just never played it.
00:57My assistant Ian was literally laughing when this whole
01:00experience happened, because he said, you don't know what
01:02and this whole experience happened
01:04because he said, you don't know what you've done.
01:05Like, you don't even know what you've done right now.
01:07And I was like, I don't.
01:08So I was like, I have to at least play the game.
01:10So I played the game and it was interesting
01:11just to see the skins of Lady Gaga
01:14and understand the wraps, which are the weapons.
01:16And then I was like, okay, now when's the dance happen?
01:18So I'm watching the dance happen and I'm like,
01:20okay, yeah, this is it.
01:21But Ian tells me, well, just letting you know
01:24that when you dance, you have to dance safely
01:25because you can still get shot in the game.
01:27And I was like, oh my God.
01:29Yeah, so I was like, whenever I saw them dancing
01:32on the video clips, I'm like,
01:33oh, they're probably just celebrating and it's all good.
01:36No, it's like a celebrate with making sure
01:39you won't get shot.
01:40So it was crazy.
01:41Wow, well, we all need an Ian in our lives
01:43to explain these things to us.
01:44Yes, we do.
01:45So tell me about now taking this choreography,
01:47Stupid Love, Rain On Me, and incorporating it into Fortnite.
01:50So I got the phone call saying that they want to use
01:54Rain On Me and Stupid Love's choreography from the video.
01:57♪ Rain on me, rain, rain, rain on me ♪
02:02So when I was choreographing those videos for Gaga,
02:04in the back of my mind, I said,
02:05we're gonna have to have our difficult dance pop parts,
02:08but then we're gonna have to have our simple
02:10anyone can learn it parts.
02:11And so it's interesting to see that it came around
02:13unexpectedly to basically do something
02:15that's never been done before,
02:16which is using the exact choreography from a video
02:19in a game like Fortnite.
02:21And did you face any challenges doing that and transitioning?
02:24It's interesting because AI and where we're at in technology
02:26has progressed so much.
02:28Back in the day, they would have probably brought me in,
02:30put me in a black outfit,
02:31put on these sensory balls, yeah, the dots,
02:33and then I wouldn't have to physically dance it,
02:35but they were literally able to take it from the video
02:39and shift it into Fortnite.
02:41And when it got to me, they basically showed me her skins
02:44and how she was moving.
02:45And then I liked the segments and the sequence
02:48of what they took from the choreography from the video.
02:50Working with Lady Gaga and then also working with Fortnite,
02:52you get to see fans get excited about these,
02:55this choreography, this music video.
02:56So what has the fan interaction been with Fortnite?
02:59From what I've gathered, what's interesting is like,
03:01Lady Gaga and Fortnite doing this collaboration,
03:04I'm sure brought a ton of her fan base into a world
03:07such as I, that I had never played.
03:08I always heard about, but never played.
03:10So what was funny about, at least for me,
03:11and seeing some of the interaction,
03:13is at least one connecting thing that they had
03:15was the choreography.
03:17The music, obviously, but then when there's
03:19that celebritative moment,
03:21when they can celebrate with the game,
03:23I thought what's cool was like,
03:24they're new to this Fortnite world,
03:25but they're familiar with the choreography.
03:28So, I don't know, I felt like it did something.
03:30It was some sort of connection through the movement
03:31and through the music, but the game itself
03:33is like a whole new experience for anybody that plays it.
03:35So crazy to think about, and like,
03:37how did they work with AI?
03:38So did they put this, all your choreography,
03:40basically through an AI to create it?
03:43Yeah, so they put it through their system,
03:44whatever Epic Games has, I don't know.
03:46But they put it through their system,
03:48and like I said, what's interesting
03:49is they literally took it from the music video.
03:52So to see the clips, like I saw something on Vivo
03:55where there was like a whole music video,
03:57from top to bottom of Rain On Me,
03:59but literally they took the same four moves
04:01and used it throughout the entire three-minute song.
04:04Wow.
04:05Same moves, but they just have different versions
04:07or different locations or different interactions
04:10between Gaga and Ariana's emotes.
04:12So it's really cool what they did.
04:14How do you feel like you personally
04:15would incorporate AI into your work?
04:17It would be about what artists I'm working with mostly,
04:20and do they wanna go in this AI space?
04:22And if so, then how do we make those moments
04:25make sense with the video?
04:27I mean, that's where my mind goes initially.
04:28I think that for live television shows,
04:30I think it's a little different.
04:32AI would have to be on a screen,
04:34and there's obviously a way to use AI in that way,
04:37like with the actual live human being as an artist.
04:40But I would think that most music videos
04:42would be the first way to make it work
04:43in a great way right now.
04:45And then, of course, working with Lady Gaga,
04:47not just on Fortnite, but through so much of her career,
04:50that's one of the, if not the biggest pop stars
04:52in the world.
04:53So how is it to see your work on such a large scale?
04:56She's just such an incredible artist.
04:58I just love working with her.
05:00♪ I lay on the ground, but I lay on the ground ♪
05:02♪ Don't let it know ♪
05:04You know, she pushes the boundaries of creativity,
05:06even for me, through her music
05:08and through her eye of what she sees.
05:10You know, to see it come back around in this way,
05:12it just, it's interesting, because even in that moment,
05:14working with Gaga on Stupid Love,
05:16where we had 47 dancers and we shot in a desert.
05:19♪ I want your stupid love, love, love ♪
05:22You know, you don't really know
05:24how many people it's gonna touch and what it's gonna do.
05:27So to see it now come back around
05:28and be in this fortnight space has been incredible,
05:30but I've just done such great work with her.
05:32I mean, Bad Romance, I think,
05:34is one of my favorite music videos.
05:36♪ You and me could write a bad romance ♪
05:39Telephone with, you know, Gaga and Beyonce
05:42is another fave of mine.
05:43The Super Bowl.
05:45I mean, that's what I wanted to talk about.
05:48You're just listing, like, iconic pop culture moments,
05:50which is wild to me as a fan of pop culture here,
05:53and you'd be like, you know, Bad Romance, Telephone,
05:56and how we all know those dance moves,
05:58but specifically the Super Bowl
05:59is actually having a bit of a resurgence right now.
06:01I don't know if you've seen on Twitter,
06:03it's going viral again.
06:04No, I didn't know that.
06:05Yes, someone has a different angle
06:07of Gaga being lifted into the air,
06:09and people are like,
06:10wait, she didn't jump off the top of the arena?
06:12So, like, seeing that,
06:14like, people conversate about, like, work you've done.
06:16Tell me about creating the Super Bowl Halftime Show
06:19and how much work went into that.
06:20I mean, you get that phone call that says, you know,
06:23the artist you're gonna be with
06:24is gonna be doing Super Bowl,
06:25first of all, it's a rush of energy
06:27because you never know
06:28if that's ever gonna come in your career.
06:30There's, like, a two-month experience
06:31of just creative talks and how to and what to do,
06:34and there's a month, a straight month of just rehearsing,
06:38going over the steps, you know, where we are on stage,
06:41where do we start, how do we end,
06:42and at the end of the day,
06:44I just remember saying, like,
06:45this is one of the biggest shows, you know,
06:47I would ever be a part of,
06:48and I'm so excited that we're doing it,
06:50like, that I'm doing it, like, with her
06:51and with those group of dancers
06:52and directors and musical directors.
06:54It was just such a incredible experience.
06:56Talk to me a little bit about creating that intro,
06:58like, what was the idea behind it and the creative
07:00and, like, okay, we're gonna film her on this roof
07:02and, like, have her jump into the Super Bowl.
07:04She really wanted to go above and beyond.
07:06It was more about how do we use, you know,
07:08the drones that went up and showed the flag.
07:11Like I said, you play the Super Bowl like no other venue
07:14and her ideas behind that were executed.
07:19We played it like the Super Bowl's supposed to be done,
07:22just like above and beyond, risky, so much risk.
07:26And at the end of the day, just still art,
07:28still dance, fashion, music.
07:31And when she jumped out of the screen at the end
07:33and caught that Super Bowl, caught that football.
07:35Oh, what, by the way, perfect timing.
07:37I mean, amazing, I would be so nervous.
07:40You were nervous, I was nervous.
07:42And then to go through big moments like that with her,
07:44these iconic moments to her career,
07:45you've had to build a personal relationship
07:47with her as well.
07:48So tell me the relationship you have with Lady Gaga.
07:51There's the whole team there.
07:52There's Gaga and the House of Gaga.
07:54And we truly work with her in a way where we're all artists
07:57and we create together.
07:58And, you know, we hear her vision,
08:00we listen to the music, and we go.
08:04And I go.
08:05And with her, I'm like, when I'm in the studio with her,
08:07I'm so excited to like work with her
08:09and teach her the choreography
08:10and to execute her vision of how she sees,
08:13whether it's the tour or the video or just the live show.
08:18So it's just, it's like, she's an artist.
08:22I'm an artist, but I just love, like I said,
08:23we push each other's boundaries.
08:24And it's just, it is fleece for me,
08:27one of the most incredible experiences.
08:29Like I literally have the best time just creating with her.
08:32Have you ever called her Stephanie?
08:34I'm just wondering.
08:36I mean, like, rarely.
08:39I just want to be like,
08:40are you like, hey, Stephanie, girl, what's going on?
08:42And it is, I can't even remember the last time
08:44I even said Stephanie.
08:45It's like, Gogs, Gaga.
08:47Oh, Gogs, oh my God, you're killing me.
08:49♪ On the right side you say that I was born this way ♪
08:52Let's talk about just choreography in general.
08:55So how is it to work with an artist,
08:57like and incorporate their artistic vision into your work?
09:00What I love about thinking about who my artist is
09:03and what they want,
09:05it helps me define their brand versus someone else's.
09:08I'm someone that's a selfless choreographer,
09:11meaning like it's not about me.
09:13It's about saying, what does the brand want?
09:15What does the artist want?
09:16How do I choreograph in that space?
09:18But then if I go to this artist, same difference.
09:20How do I choreograph in that space?
09:22Where if you find out it's me, it's great,
09:24but if you didn't know it's me, even better.
09:27Because now it's about the brands and not about me.
09:29And you're working with some new artists as well
09:31that you got some stuff coming out.
09:32JoJo Siwa.
09:33Yes.
09:34She is doing a whole rebrand.
09:36Yes, she is.
09:36A whole snap back.
09:38So tell me about working with JoJo
09:40and how it has been to build choreography for this new era.
09:42I met JoJo on a show that I was judging on
09:44called Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition.
09:46I think then she was nine years old.
09:48Later on in her career, you know, she was with Nickelodeon.
09:51She began doing like Dance Moms with Abby Lee,
09:54but she started doing music on YouTube.
09:55And I hadn't seen her since that competition show.
09:58And so I happened to run into her, you know,
10:00out her and her mom in Studio City.
10:01And her mom was like, you know,
10:02would you ever want to like choreograph for JoJo?
10:04And I'm like, yes.
10:06But she's such a good dancer.
10:07Yeah, she's amazing.
10:09And she was 13 then.
10:10And so choreographing for her then, she was 13.
10:14The songs were very young, very for kids.
10:16It was with Nickelodeon.
10:18You know, there were certain things,
10:19dance moves I could do and not do.
10:21Certain hip moves couldn't make it into the choreography
10:24because it was for kids.
10:26But now that she's in her, you know, adult pop star era
10:31that we're about to get into,
10:32now it's like the game is open.
10:34Now I can, we've been laughing because I'm like,
10:36ah, now we can do this move and do that move.
10:38And it's a little more risque.
10:39So I'm excited.
10:40I'm really excited because she's just one of those artists
10:43that I feel like is the next generation's big pop star.
10:46And she just goes for it.
10:48And I love that about her.
10:49And I mean, she started to tease the song Karma.
10:52What was your reaction the first time you heard it?
10:54Okay.
10:55I was like, okay, the last song that JoJo played for me
10:57was like her song called D-R-E-A-M.
11:00It was very young, very kiddie.
11:02So I was like, okay, Rich, here we go.
11:06You know, and once I heard it, I was like, yes.
11:09I mean, it was unexpected.
11:10I didn't think that this would be the song
11:12that came from her because it just,
11:14it was a first from hearing so many kids songs
11:16for so many years that to hear this verb,
11:19I'm sorry, this vibe on her, I loved it.
11:22♪ Karma's a bitch, I should've known better ♪
11:25♪ If I had a wish, I would've never left around ♪
11:29And I do want to talk to you
11:30because you know, JoJo's big on TikTok.
11:32Yeah.
11:33And dance, choreography in general is huge on TikTok.
11:36So let's talk a little bit about that process
11:38and how you felt seeing like how TikTok has affected
11:41the music and choreography game.
11:43I think it's really interesting.
11:45I think that TikTok champions the dance
11:49that we didn't know was out there.
11:51I feel like meaning like I've seen parents dance
11:53and young kids dance and people who I would never expect
11:55to dance are dancing now because of TikTok.
11:58I think it's sort of brought this whole new world
12:02to the idea of dance because now it's like
12:04truly anybody can do it.
12:06And my point in saying is that like when I grew up
12:08as a choreographer coming into this game,
12:10I just only imagined professional dancers dancing.
12:14And so I think that TikTok is now expanding to my mind
12:16to see that, oh, everyone still dances.
12:18Everyone loves to dance, no matter shape, size, race,
12:21you know, background, like dance is infectious
12:24and it's everywhere.
12:25So TikTok to me, it's just opened up my mind
12:27to like anybody can do it.
12:28And everyone's doing it, obviously.
12:30And do you feel like it's fair to have like choreography
12:35from a user blow up on TikTok and not be compensated
12:37because that's another big argument that happens.
12:39Um, I'm on the fence about it, truthfully.
12:43It's almost like, how do you regulate
12:45what someone is inspired by, right?
12:47I mean, like when I was a kid, I was watching Michael Jackson.
12:49I was watching MC Hammer, you know, there wasn't TikTok
12:52but I was still at home doing it.
12:54You know what I mean?
12:55I still loved it.
12:55I think that the bigger, at least for me,
12:58issue would be like what happens when someone else
13:00takes your work that's like a TV show or what happens
13:03like, you know, and this is something that we're trying
13:05to figure out now, even as choreographers,
13:07how can we now, like, even when it comes to SAG,
13:11we're trying to like have our own choreographers guild
13:13and we're trying to get compensated
13:16for like residual checks these days.
13:17I mean, that's a thing that we are
13:20as choreographers are experiencing because, you know,
13:22writers and directors, you know,
13:24I'm just going to use step up.
13:29Step up is dance.
13:30Yeah, it's all dance.
13:31It's all dance.
13:32So it's just a space where we now as choreographers
13:35who are separate entities from dancers
13:38are trying to understand how we can now be
13:40in a position to get residuals because it is in sequence.
13:43It's like, you know, like lyrics of a song are in sequence.
13:47People are hearing that song in that sequence
13:49and the writers and singers get compensated
13:52even, you know, in the SAG world.
13:53So for choreographers, we are now as ourselves
13:57trying to say, hey, there's a there there
14:00because our movement is in sequence
14:02and people are watching it in sequence
14:04and it is our work and can we be compensated in that way?
14:07Wow.
14:08I mean, I think it is important that you guys do that
14:10but what you actually made me think about just now,
14:12I want to ask you really quick,
14:13is like flipping that around, right?
14:15You're from the professional side
14:16of being a professional choreographer.
14:17From a user side, I've seen several times
14:20where these like TikTok dances have been used on tours
14:23with major artists, right?
14:24So I saw it with Taylor Swift and Bejeweled
14:27and she invited the guy out to the show.
14:29Then recently this guy and Nicki Minaj, it happened.
14:32He did the tiptoe thing.
14:34And everybody's like, is she paying him?
14:35Like da da da da da.
14:36So how do you feel about that?
14:37If an artist is paying homage to like a TikTok user's dance,
14:41do you feel like that's a fair compensation?
14:43I think in this day and age
14:46where people's work is their work,
14:48I feel like if it was me,
14:50I would reach out to that choreographer
14:52and pay them for whatever amount of choreography
14:55I would use.
14:56I just think it's the right thing to do.
14:57I really appreciate your insight, Richie
14:59on all things choreography
15:00but now what I have to do is dance with you.
15:02Can you teach me some Rain On Me maybe?
15:04Of course.
15:05I'm no Gaga, but I'm gonna try.
15:06Let's get it.
15:07Let's do it.
15:09All right, so Richie, you got me over here ready to dance.
15:12What are we learning today?
15:13Okay, so we are gonna learn Rain On Me.
15:15We're gonna learn what is in the Fortnite game itself.
15:18Yeah, this moment was created, you know,
15:19for Gaga, for Ariana.
15:21And it was all about how do I like mix the two worlds,
15:24like pop and like pop R&B vibe.
15:26That's what I was going for.
15:26Okay, okay.
15:27So what I instantly think of is the jump, right?
15:29Is that?
15:30Yes, the jump, like free me in the rain.
15:33That was the moment.
15:34Okay, you ready?
15:35Let's do it.
15:36Okay, first you're gonna,
15:38you're gonna bring your hand to your knees
15:40like you're pulling down the rain.
15:43Yeah, you're gonna bring it.
15:44We got four of those?
15:45We got four of those.
15:46So think about pulling it like, pull it.
15:49Give me a little wiggle in the fingers.
15:51Yeah, wave the ass, bringing the rain troops.
15:53Okay, now let me just see that.
15:55Five, six, seven, and you go pull, pull, pull, pull.
16:01Okay.
16:02Okay, listen, I'm trying.
16:03Now, after you pull in the rain,
16:04you're gonna just jump in the rain.
16:05You're gonna jump in the freedom.
16:06Oh, this is the jump.
16:07I'm so excited about the jump.
16:08Now, when you do the jump, you gotta look up.
16:10I think if you look out, it's a little weird.
16:12You gotta look up in the rain.
16:13So we're gonna give you the four jumps.
16:14You're gonna just jump with your hands out.
16:16Five, six, seven, eight.
16:19Give me jump, jump, jump, jump.
16:22Perfect.
16:22Yay!
16:23Now when you land, you'll come in here and give me,
16:27think a little, like a little hop, hop, hop and a skip.
16:30You're just going, uh, two, three, four.
16:33Yeah, this is the, yeah.
16:35So you're laying, you're gonna give me the jump.
16:38Three, four, then you're gonna turn, hoo, ha, hoo, ha.
16:42All I need is four hop moves.
16:43That's four.
16:44Four hop moves.
16:45You're gonna hop.
16:47Oh, Lord.
16:48Okay.
16:52I was like, I'm gonna do what?
16:54Okay, so you're gonna say, hoo, ha, hoo, ha.
16:59This is jump, jump, jump, jump.
17:02Yes.
17:03Dang.
17:04Okay.
17:05And then we out.
17:05And then we out.
17:06So we're gonna do the whole thing in that sequence,
17:07from the top.
17:08Okay.
17:09You ready?
17:10And go, hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo.
17:12Jump.
17:14And leap.
17:15And push, push, push, push.
17:17Ay!
17:19Oh my God.
17:21Thank you so much.
17:23I've never felt like a pop star more than I feel right now.
17:26Thank you so much, Richie,
17:27for coming and hanging out with Billboard News.
17:28That was amazing.
17:29Yes.
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