Swedish Pop Singer Erik Rapp’s New Video Is As Dramatic As Your Last Relationship

Erik Rapp is a 20-year-old Swedish singer who's been through a few reincarnations: he repped his country in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2011, made it to the semi-finals of the Swedish version of American Idol in 2013, and most recently in 2016 featured on the big European club track "Suburbia." With his autobiographical debut EP Lovers, he finds his own voice, telling the story of a relationship from beginning to end in the language of anthemic Scandi-pop. "Look Like Lovers" is the EP's closing swan song, and its video is the most bittersweet thing you'll watch today.

“I wanted the video to be big, sensational, and passionate — a classic scene from a romantic movie, driving a convertible on the highway with my lover," Erik explained in an email to The FADER. “Shooting the video represented the expectation, and the feeling while being absorbed [in] ‘an item.’ Watching it, the reality — the mud, the concrete, the cold wind in my face — all the imperfections of the love story were lined up.

"The mask on my lover in the video was also an important detail, cause it could be anyone as long as it was someone. What the hell was I doing? Childishly chasing a love story that was wrong in the first place, down into darkness and desperation. How could I not see it?” Watch the video above.