Music Video Review: Travis McCoy’s "One at a Time"

By our guest blogger, Gabrielle Corrado

Gym Class Heroes front man Travis McCoy has temporarily traded in his signature witty rhymes in favor of something a bit more serious--the artist and former boyfriend of starlet Katy Perry recently released a charity track entitled "One at a Time"

The track was written in spirit of World AIDS day, which was on December 1. The tattooed singer was recently named the spokesman of MTV’s Staying Alive Foundation, and all proceeds from the sale of the song benefit AIDS/HIV prevention charities.

It’s tough to find anything negative about the video for "One at a Time," which chronicles Travis’ travels through South Africa, the Philippines and India. True, it is utterly void of any sort of plot, fancy costuming or elaborate dance sequences, but I find this refreshing. I, for one, couldn’t imagine anything more inappropriate than a glitzy, overproduced video for such a heartfelt song, in which Travis croons, “Can’t change the world overnight/ But we can start by saving a life/ One at a time, one at a time/ So, let’s make history/ And help out those in need.”

What the video lacks in plot, it more than makes up for in substance. The video, filmed throughout the span of Travis’ 11-day trip, features him meeting and interacting with adults and children that he encountered on his travels. One particularly touching scene shows a smiling Travis taking a photo with a group of small children in Africa; another features him playing basketball with a young boy in India. Additionally, I really enjoyed the snippets of interviews with local peoples sprinkled throughout the video. Ultimately, I thoroughly enjoyed "One at a Time," I applaud Travis for using his stardom to convey an important message, and can only hope that other artists follow suit.


View the video for "One at a Time" below. What are your thoughts?