Chris Applebaum is a music video director from Los Angeles, California. His videos including

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip hop ...

' '' Party in the U.S.A.'', Usher's ''

Dive Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

'', and

Demi Lovato Demetria Devonne Lovato ( ; born August 20, 1992), known as Demi Lovato, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. After appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), Lovato rose to prominence for pl ...

's ''

Heart Attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

''. 30 of his videos have reached #1 on the MTV charts. Applebaum has also directed fitness videos, beauty product advertisements, and commercials for companies such as

Skechers Skechers USA, Inc. is an American multinational footwear company. Headquartered in Manhattan Beach, California, it was founded in 1992 and is now the third largest footwear brand in the United States. History Skechers was founded in 1992 by Ro ...

and Carl's Jr.

Life and career

Early life and college

Applebaum was born in 1970 in Los Angeles, California and studied film at

Hampshire College Hampshire College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was opened in 1970 as an experiment in alternative education, in association with four other colleges ...

Amherst, Massachusetts Amherst () is a New England town, town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Connecticut River valley. As of the 2020 census, the population was 39,263, making it the highest populated municipality in Hampshire County (althoug ...

. At Hampshire College, he met tour manager Asia Kai Linn in 1989, whom he married six years later. While still in college, Applebaum began directing videos for independent rock bands. His first video was released in 1992 for Chicago band

Material Issue Material Issue was an American power pop trio from Chicago, Illinois. The band's trademark is pop songs with themes of love and heartbreak. A number of their song titles used girls' first names. History Material Issue was formed in 1985, led b ...

's song ''Everything.'' When Applebaum was 19, MTV offered him an opportunity to join their On-Air Promos department in New York City. Chris Applebaum signed with Satellite Films at the age of 21, becoming their youngest ever signed director, and directed over 250 films under this contract. In the 1990s, Applebaum founded a record label called Indi 500.

Career and influence

The 1995 video for

Better Than Ezra Better Than Ezra is an American alternative rock band based in New Orleans, Louisiana, and signed with The End Records. The band formed in 1988 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and consists of Kevin Griffin (vocals and guitar), Tom Drummond (bass g ...

's "

Good In most contexts, the concept of good denotes the conduct that should be preferred when posed with a choice between possible actions. Good is generally considered to be the opposite of evil and is of interest in the study of ethics, morality, ph ...

", directed by Applebaum, brought him a higher level of recognition. In the coming years, he would direct

Fountains of Wayne Fountains of Wayne was an American rock band that formed in New York City in 1995. The band included founding members Chris Collingwood, Adam Schlesinger, Jody Porter, and Brian Young. They released five albums from 1996 to 2011 before effec ...

's "

Stacy's Mom "Stacy's Mom" is a song by American rock band Fountains of Wayne. It is the third track on their third studio album, ''Welcome Interstate Managers'', and was released to radio as the album's first single on May 19, 2003, through S-Curve Recor ...

", a

Carl's Jr. Carl's Jr. Restaurants LLC is an American fast food restaurant chain operated by CKE Restaurant Holdings, Inc., with franchisees in North & South America, Asia, Oceania, Europe and Africa. In 2016, ''Entrepreneur'' listed Carl's Jr. as No. 54 ...

commercial featuring

Paris Hilton Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an American media personality, businesswoman, socialite, model, and entertainer. Born in New York City, and raised there and in Beverly Hills, California, she is a great-granddaughter of Conra ...

, and advertisements for

CoverGirl CoverGirl is an American cosmetics brand founded in Maryland, United States, by the Noxzema Chemical Company. It was acquired by Procter & Gamble in 1989 and later acquired by Coty, Inc. in 2016. The Noxell Company advertised this cosmetics li ...

and

Smirnoff Smirnoff (; ) is a brand of vodka owned and produced by the British company Diageo. The Smirnoff brand began with a vodka distillery founded in Moscow by Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov (1831–1898). It is distributed in 130 countries. Smirnoff produ ...

. His

commercial was dubbed by BDS Neilsen as the most aired TV commercial of all time. In 2007, Applebaum's video for

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...

's "

Umbrella An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is usually mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is designed to protect a person against rain or sunlight. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionally used ...

" was released. Applebaum later told

Genius Genius is a characteristic of original and exceptional insight in the performance of some art or endeavor that surpasses expectations, sets new standards for future works, establishes better methods of operation, or remains outside the capabiliti ...

, " mbrella isdefinitely the video that I'm the proudest of," and the video has yielded the highest sale rate of any music video on the

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

store. Applebaum's video for "

" influenced a campaign for

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

iPod The iPod is a discontinued series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The first version was released on October 23, 2001, about months after the Macintosh version of iTunes ...

, and his video for

Semisonic Semisonic is an American rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1995, consisting of Dan Wilson (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), John Munson (bass, keyboards, backing vocals, guitar), and Jacob Slichter (drums, percussion, keyboards, ...

's '' Closing Time'' is credited for inspiring aspects of Season 6 of ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...

''. Applebaum has won several awards, including the 2010 MUCH Best International Video for '' Party in the U.S.A.'', the 2007 VMA Video of the Year award for ''

'', and the 2006 MUCH Best Video for a Female Artist for '' S.O.S.'' Applebaum has also directed several other notable videos including " Party in the U.S.A.". The director claims that he now focuses on directing commercials rather than music videos.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Applebaum, Chris Living people American music video directors People from Los Angeles Hampshire College alumni 1970 births

Life and career

Early life and college

Career and influence

See also

References