It has been over a decade. Still, if you hear that high-pitched "la la la" hook, you probably see that kid in the oversized aviator hat. Released in 2013, the Naughty Boy featuring Sam Smith La La La music video wasn't just another chart-topping dance track. It was a weird, slightly unsettling cinematic trip through the Bolivian salt flats that felt more like a short film than a pop promo.
Honestly? Most people at the time were just obsessed with Sam Smith’s breakout vocals. But the visual? That was something else. It borrowed heavily from an old Andean legend, and if you haven't revisited it lately, you're missing out on some of the strangest symbolism to ever hit the mainstream.
The Story Behind the Naughty Boy and Sam Smith La La La Music Video
The video follows a young boy who escapes a domestic situation—implied by a man shouting at him—and heads out into the world. He isn't alone for long. He picks up these bizarre companions along the way. First, there’s a guy with a dog, then a man covered in what looks like dust or salt.
It’s basically a surrealist retelling of a Bolivian myth about a deaf boy. In the legend, the boy runs away from home because of his abusive father and finds a stray dog. He eventually discovers he has a supernatural power: his voice can heal people. But the catch in the La La La music video is that he doesn't use his voice to speak; he uses it to drown out the "noise" of the world's cruelty.
Think about the lyrics. "I'm covering my ears like a kid." It’s literal.
The locations are breathtaking. Director Ian Pons Jewell took the crew to Potosí and the Salar de Uyuni. It’s one of the flattest places on Earth. This gives the whole thing an isolated, dreamlike quality that matches the production’s garage-inflected beat. The salt flats look like another planet. You've got these vast, white expanses where the sky and ground just... blur.
Why the El Tio Scene Matters
The climax happens in a mine. This isn't just a random spooky basement. It represents the Devil’s hideout, specifically a figure known in Bolivian mining culture as El Tio.
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Miners in the Andes actually leave offerings to El Tio. They give him cigarettes, coca leaves, and alcohol. Why? Because they believe he rules the underworld and can either protect them or cause the mine to collapse. In the La La La music video, the boy finds El Tio—who looks like a terrifying, horned statue—and starts singing to him.
The boy's companions stay outside. They are afraid. But the boy? He’s fearless. He stays there to "quiet" the demon. It's a heavy metaphor for facing your fears or perhaps silencing the internal demons that come from a rough upbringing.
Some viewers find it depressing. Others think it's triumphant. It’s definitely not your average "club anthem" video where everyone is just dancing in a strobe-lit room. That’s probably why it has billions of views. It sticks. It lingers.
Production Secrets and the Sam Smith Factor
Funny enough, Sam Smith isn't even in the video.
That was actually pretty common for featured vocalists in the early 2010s dance scene. Naughty Boy (Shahid Khan) wanted the focus to be on the narrative. By keeping the stars out of the frame, the video feels more like a piece of folklore.
Shooting in Potosí was a nightmare for the crew. We are talking about extreme altitudes. The city is over 13,000 feet above sea level. You can’t just run around with a camera there without feeling like your lungs are collapsing.
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- Director: Ian Pons Jewell.
- Location: Bolivia (La Paz, Potosí, Uyuni).
- Visual Style: Magical Realism.
The "Dust Man" in the video was inspired by a real-life condition, but in the context of the story, he represents a person who has been "petrified" by life’s hardships. When the boy encounters him, he helps him "awaken."
There’s a specific shot of a man being operated on to remove a heart. It’s visceral. It’s a bit much for a pop song, right? But that’s the point. The world is loud and painful, and the boy’s "la la la" is his shield.
Breaking Down the Visual Symbolism
The dog represents loyalty, obviously. But the man with the heart? That’s about vulnerability.
If you watch closely, the boy isn't just wandering. He is collecting the broken. Each person he meets is suffering from some kind of sensory or emotional overload. By the time they reach the mine, the boy has become a sort of spiritual leader for the outcasts.
People often compare it to The Wizard of Oz. You have the group of travelers, the desolate landscape, and a final confrontation with a powerful figure. But instead of a Wizard, they find a demon. And instead of going home, the boy stays behind to sacrifice himself—or at least his silence—to keep the demon occupied.
Common Misconceptions
One big mistake people make is thinking the video is about a kid just being annoying. "He's just ignoring his parents!" Well, yeah, but the subtext is much darker. The "noise" he’s blocking out is the verbal abuse shown in the first thirty seconds.
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Another misconception? That the ending is a "bad" ending. In many interpretations of the original myth, the boy is a hero. He isn't trapped in the mine; he is the only one strong enough to stay there so others don't have to deal with the evil.
The Lasting Legacy of the Video
The La La La music video helped define a specific era of British electronic music where the visuals were just as artsy as the production. It paved the way for other high-concept videos from artists like Clean Bandit or Disclosure.
It also turned Ian Pons Jewell into a massive director. He went on to work with everyone from Vince Staples to FKA Twigs. You can see his fingerprints all over modern music videos—that weird, slightly grainy, hyper-saturated look that feels like a fever dream.
If you’re looking to understand why this specific video worked, it’s the contrast. You have this upbeat, catchy, radio-friendly song playing over images of a child facing a literal demon in a dark cave. That friction is where the magic happens.
What to Do Next
If you want to fully appreciate the depth of the La La La music video, try these steps:
- Watch it without the sound first. Focus purely on the cinematography in Bolivia. You’ll notice small details, like the textures of the salt and the specific offerings left at the feet of El Tio, that you missed while humming along.
- Research the "El Tio" myth. Understanding the real-world rituals of Potosí miners adds a layer of respect and tragedy to the video's ending.
- Listen to the acoustic version. Sam Smith’s vocals hit differently when the dance beat is stripped away, making the "covering my ears" lyrics feel much more like a plea for help than a catchy hook.
- Check out Ian Pons Jewell's later work. Compare the "La La La" visuals to his more recent projects to see how his style of magical realism has evolved over the last decade.
The video remains a masterclass in how to turn a simple pop song into a cultural artifact that people are still dissecting years later. It’s proof that you don't need a huge celebrity cameo to make a hit; sometimes, a kid in an aviator hat and a Bolivian demon are more than enough.