Danielle Bradbery Details ‘Super Strict’ Process of Filming ‘Never Have I Ever’ Music Video

Danielle Bradbery released her latest single, “Never Have I Ever,” in May, and the 24-year-old officially debuted the song’s music video in June. Filmed in Austin, Texas, the clip features Bradbery in a series of solitary locations, singing to the camera during daylight and into the evening. Speaking to PopCulture.com and other media, Bradbery reflected on shooting the video, sharing that she and her team wanted to keep things as safe as possible while staying true to the spirit of the song.

“I was at home in Texas for some of the quarantine in the beginning and it was super nice to be with my family and just have that time,” she said. “And in the middle of all that, I was jumping on calls, figuring out the planning process for ‘Never Have I Ever’ and just trying to figure out a way to do everything while everything is shut down. And so we came up with the idea of traveling to Austin, Texas, which is about a three-hour drive from my hometown.”

“We got with the director and there was about five people [there], usually there’s a few more than that,” she continued. “And everybody had masks on, everybody had gloves. We were super, super strict about just everything, social distancing. And we’re like, ‘Okay, first of all, we don’t want to get in trouble for all of this, but second, let’s try to get a music video that’s really vulnerable and authentic to the song. Let’s really try our hardest.’ And honestly, when we were done, I wasn’t sure how it was going to turn out. I’m like, ‘Okay, crossing fingers here.’”

The Texas native revealed that her mom, who is a hairdresser, did her glam for the shoot and that “a lot” of her family was able to watch. “So it was a really special, unique, crazy time, but we did it and I’m very proud of what came out of it,” she said.

Bradbery wrote “Never Have I Ever” with David Hall Hodges and Laura Veltz, and the breezy love song is an ode to a new partner who makes the protagonist realize how different this new relationship is. Bradbery explained that she was single when they wrote the song, and while she’s now in a relationship, the song describes the kind of love she was hoping to find.

“I reached out to him on social media, which is the first time I’ve ever done that before,” she shared of her now-boyfriend. “And I said, ‘Hey, have you ever been to Nashville?’ And his first response was, ‘Never have I ever have you ever been to LA?’ And I’m like, ‘Wait, what?’ And I had the song ‘Never Have I Ever’ I was sitting on. I went back and listened to that song as soon as he said that. And it just all worked out the way it was supposed to. And every feel that I sing to you in that song is exactly how my current relationship started. So I just say it’s about him, but in the moment, we were definitely talking about those feelings and Laura had the title and we just ran with that.”