The 'Technicolor' singer recalls being asked by a music industry executive to reshoot a video in which she kissed a black man at the beginning of her music career.
- July 9, 2020
AceShowbiz - Paloma Faith has claimed her refusal to reshoot a video in which she kissed a black man was responsible for stalling her plans to break America.
The 38-year-old singer was interviewed by Samira Ahmed for an Intelligence Squared+ online event last month (Jun20) when she revealed that she was asked to reshoot her music video for her 2014 tune "Only Love Can Hurt Like This" because it featured her kissing a Ugandan childhood friend.
Paloma alleged executives told her "America will not buy a song with a white woman kissing a black man like that," a request which left her "completely shocked and obviously taken aback."
The music industry boss - a "very high-up exec who was African American" - told Paloma that "this is the biggest chance we've got at breaking the States with your music career."
However, Paloma refused, insisting, "If I broke America and made loads of money as a consequence of that, knowing that I'd re-shot a video to make it not a biracial relationship, I wouldn't be able to live with myself, I don't want that money. It's dirty."
When the "Stone Cold Sober" star told the exec she would "break America on my terms," he is said to have responded "OK" and flown her back to her native England.
"And I didn't hear from my record company again after that," she added.
But Paloma hasn't given up on her dreams of finding success Stateside, smiling, "There's still time."
