Fans of The Real Housewives of New York City were taken by surprise Friday when the much-anticipated debut music video for “Money Can’t Buy You Class” by the Countess LuAnn de Lesseps surfaced online with no notice or fanfare. As it turns out, LuAnn and her record label Ultra Records were also surprised by the unannounced release, which occurred as they were still making plans for both private and public premiere events! That’s right, the video was leaked!
To find out what happened we got in contact with the creative director and stylist for the video, James “Jersey” Murray of StyleByJersey.com, who was kind enough to answer our questions about the leak and what it was like working with the Countess.
STARCASM: How and when was the video supposed to be released?
JERSEY: Our original plan was to do a final edit, and premier the video at an event at Covet Lounge, the venue where the video was shot. Eventually Ultra Records would have done an official release to the public.
S: Do you have any idea who leaked the video?
J: It was a very select group that had access to the video, so NO – no idea how it was leaked.
S: What was your inspiration for the video?
J: I wanted an overall look that was representative of the Countess, but also was a departure from her “character” on The Real Housewives of New york City. My goal was to present Luann de Lesseps, the singer, not the reality star. It seems that my choices, especially hair (by MikiMoriHair.com) and makeup (by KimWeber.com), were very well received. I also had some wonderful designs that were instrumental in the wardrobe. Maggie Norris Couture, Blanc de Chine, Ungaro and Malan Breton provided some amazing pieces.
S: Was this your first music video shoot?
J: Although I have done the styling, sets and art direction for many videos, this was the first music video on which I was the creative director.
S: What was it like working with the Countess?
J: Luann is a lovely, sophisticated woman with an incredible grace and sense of personal style. From the first moment we met, I enjoyed the project immensely.
S: Did she have a hand in the look of the video?
J: Luann has a very “hands-on” personality. Thankfully we connected and were very much “on the same page.”
S: Are there plans for another Countess de Lesseps video?
J: I guess we will have to wait and see what Luann and Ultra Records have in store!
In addition to doing the interview, Jersey also sent us some beautiful “behind the scenes” photos from the set of “Money Can’t Buy You Class” video shoot! His team did a great job stylizing the video and giving it a softened, fantastical look reminiscent of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, but these unretouched images taken by Perrie Schad remind us that The Countess is a very attractive woman even without the effects.
Click thumbnails to see larger images in the gallery:
Here is the leaked video of “Money Can’t Buy You Class” by the Countess LuAnn de Lesseps. I can’t say that I’m a big fan of the song itself (a little too much autotune for me) but the video looks amazing! Especially LuAnn! You can see a ton of great still images from the video, including lots and lots of LuAnn looking like Eva Longoria Parker and Sandra Bullock, in our original post from last Friday!
Thanks again to Jersey from StyleByJersey.com and Perrie Schad. I hope the Countess and Ultra Records decide to do another video and put you guys in charge again!
