Friday, April 01, 2016

Music Friday: Jason Derulo Dreams of Proposing 'With the Perfect Diamond Ring' in 2010's 'What If'

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you fabulous songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the lyrics or title. On this first day of April, we shine the spotlight on the month's official birthstone with a song about diamonds — specifically "the perfect diamond ring" in Jason Derulo's "What If."

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Derulo explained to the BBC that his 2010 song is about meeting someone for the first time and then imagining at that moment how both of their lives may have been profoundly altered.

"So I'm telling this girl y'know, what if in two years, three years from now we'll be married with children and living in a log cabin?" he said.

He sings, "Yeah, picture me on one knee / With the perfect diamond ring / We just met, but if you said yes / We'd have our wedding on the beach."

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The official video, which was inspired by the 2004 movie The Butterfly Effect, begins with Derulo and his girlfriend moving in together. He pulls a diamond engagement ring from the nightstand, but hides it in his pocket when she comes into the room. She leaves to retrieve the last box from the moving truck, but while she is walking across the street, a distracted driver nearly hits her.

Derulo hears the skidding car and sprints to save his girlfriend, but as he reaches her, the video freezes and then time beings to go in reverse. We learn how Derulo and his girlfriend got to this moment through reverse-motion flashbacks, as if their lives are being rewound.

The video, which has been viewed nearly 30 million times, contains a surprise ending that we won't spoil here. The "butterfly effect," by the way, is a scientific theory that a single occurrence, no matter how small, can change the course of the universe forever.

"What If" is the fourth single from Derulo's self-titled debut album. It was first released in the UK and peaked at #12. The single was subsequently released in the U.S., where it made its debut at #76 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Born Jason Joel Desrouleaux in Miramar, Fla., the 26-year-old singer-songwriter-dancer-choreographer, has sold more than 50 million singles since launching his solo career in 2009. He changed his last name to Derulo because the French spelling was hard to pronounce.

Please check out the official video of "What If." The lyrics are below if you'd like to sing along...

"What If"
Written by Jonathan Rotem and Jason Desrouleaux. Performed by Jason Derulo.

What if?
What if I'm the one for you?
And you're the one for me?
What if?

If you are the one
Then us meeting here is fate
Future with a dog named Red
Buy a house with a fireplace

This is the first I've seen your face
But there's a chance we are soul mates
I know this might sound crazy
'Cause you don't know my name

But we can't, we can't tell the future, no
But that's just the beauty of the world we know
So I'ma say du, du, du-du, du-du, du-du, baby, what if?
We all can say du, du, du-du, du-du, du-du, baby, what if?

What if? What if? What if?
What if? What if? What if?

Yeah, picture me on one knee
With the perfect diamond ring
We just met, but if you said yes
We'd have our wedding on the beach

It could happen, raise three kids
And we grow old oh, so happily
I know this might sound crazy
'Cause I don't know your name

But we can't, we can't tell the future, no
But that's just the beauty of the world we know
So I'ma say du, du, du-du, du-du, du-du, baby, what if?
We all can say du, du, du-du, du-du, du-du, baby, what if?

Don't know what tomorrow brings
But I'm still hoping that you are the one for me
Oh, and what if I had you and what if you had me
And, baby, what's the reason we can't fall in love?

What if? What if? What if?
What if? What if?

But we can't, we can't tell the future, no
But that's just the beauty of the world we know
So I'ma say du, du, du-du, du-du, du-du, baby, what if?
We all can say du, du, du-du, du-du, du-du, baby, what if?

But we can't, we can't tell the future, no
But that's just the beauty of the world we know
So I'ma say du, du, du-du, du-du, du-du, baby, what if?
We all can say du, du, du-du, du-du, du-du, baby, what if?

Credits: YouTube screen captures.

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