The Veronicas video for their single On Your Side, which was written and directed by Ruby Rose, has been labelled by fans as "groundbreaking" and "a win for the LGBT community", with the narrative not following that of the usual mainstream music video.
The music video depicts a blazing love story between Orange is the New Black's Rose and Jess Origliasso (one half of the Veronicas). Rekindling their relationship on the set after eight years, Rose and Origliasso depict the struggle relationships endure when it comes to violence and addiction, as well as sexual chemistry between the pair.
But it is their dramatic and tragic reconciliation at the end of the video that busts apart the usual happy ending, with lyrics such as, "life's isn't pretty, we would get a little wrecked sometimes".
Renowned for pushing gender fluidity boundaries in her work, Rose also released the gender-neutral video Break Free two years ago to show "what it is like to have an identity that deviates from the status quo".
Rose told music website Idolator that she instantly saw potential in creating a narrative for On Your Side, after Lisa (the other Veronicas sister) played the song for her in London.
"When I first heard the song I was drawn to the lyrics. Some songs tell the first chapter of a story others only tell the last, but here I was listening to a full narrative of someone's sincere experience with love," Rose said.
"It stood out to me and like any great narrative you wanted to know what was going to happen next. Some months later when the girls spoke about making a video it occurred to me they had never done an entirely narrative-based video. I felt compelled to write a short film for it and see what they thought. They loved the idea of it and asked if I wanted to be in it. A few days later we shot it over a weekend in Auckland."
The Veronicas took to social media to explain similar sentiments towards the message of love brought to life in the clip. "The truth is this: love is not determined by the one being loved but rather by the one choosing to love. And stay."
Jess Origliasso told Idolator that the power of unconventional and honest storytelling saw the collaboration with Rose as a simple decision.
"Ruby Rose is known for creating powerful and intensely affecting work and being given the opportunity to collaborate with her artistic force has been an incredible experience, both personally and professionally. Lisa and I have always been drawn to unconventional and honest storytelling through our music; Ruby brought this to the forefront in our video for On Your Side. The video shares a story between Ruby's character and mine.
"It's a true to life look at the passion and protection of two people falling in love and, ultimately, a love that cannot be broken. Working with Ruby, someone who naturally aligns with and embraces powerful and impassioned narrative, was an organic step forward for the Veronicas and an inspiring and rewarding experience for everyone involved."
Most fans came to the consensus that the music video is a springboard for starting positive conversations for the LGBT community as well as depicting the effects that addiction and violence can have on all relationships – something that one fan said is often "glorified" in heterosexual video clips.
While shows including Rose's Orange is the New Black break boundaries in depicting same-sex relationships, media authority GLAAD recently stated that queer women in television were under-represented. With Australia's Troye Sivan also releasing LGBT-focused music videos for his songs Wild and Youth, many fans believe that videos showing such themes is a step in the right direction in normalising the acceptance of all relationships on screen, rather than merely representing them through "steamy physical connections".