“How to Be a Heartbreaker” by Welsh sweetheart Marina Diamandis (stage name Marina and the Diamonds) is the music video every girl needs to discover for its message and its content. Marina instructs viewers on how to break hearts instead of getting yours broken, all while giving us a tasty look at the boys whose hearts we could be breaking.
Her first verse instructs that “You gotta have fun / But baby when you’re done / You gotta be the first to run” and “Don’t get attached to / Somebody you could lose.” Here, Marina is shown playing hard to get as she appears more interested in her phone than with a guy cuddling up to her against a brick wall, receiving a manicure, and, most notably (and enjoyably) serenading us while a row of male models take a shower behind her. Brooding has never looked so good.
When the ultra-catchy and synth-filled chorus begins, she begins to dance with the shower boys, inflicting jealousy into every heart that watches it unfold. Debatably, the best part about all of this is the confidence she displays knowing that she holds the power in these situations.
As the video continues, Marina maintains her iconic ribbons and the heart on her cheek gets justification as verse two explains that you have to “Wear your heart on your cheek / But never on your sleeve / Unless you wanna taste defeat” and that you “Gotta be lookin’ pure / Kiss him goodbye at the door / And leave him wantin’ more.” Fans continue to enjoy the shower boys, the brick wall attention-craver, and the manicurist, in addition to what many viewers deem “modern-day Jesus,” as Marina also teases him outside a diner.
Speaking to viewers in a full-length gown on a beach, the bridge is one of the only times that we see her alone. Here, she’s explaining why it’s necessary that girls do this, because “we don’t want our hearts to break in two / So it’s better to be fake / Can’t risking losing in love again, babe.”
As the final chorus takes place, Marina shoots us a coy little smile as she continues to dance with all the featured boys (and as they dance with each other), and is pictured alone, finally serving up a boy’s bloody head on a silver platter. All in all, this video is an eye-candy delight. After watching this video, you might find yourself trying to bring ribbons back into fashion and drawing hearts on your cheek for a good long time. No judgement.