The former Nickelodeon star is in the midst of a new musical era, and PEOPLE has the exclusive premiere of the video for her latest single, “Raw”
In the midst of a new musical era, Victoria Justice is getting “raw” with her listeners.
Following the release of her latest single “Raw” earlier this month, the 31-year-old singer and actress is bringing the vulnerable song to life in a new music video, and PEOPLE has its exclusive premiere.
Inspired by an evening of waxing poetic about romance with a pen and paper, “Raw” was crafted by Justice alongside her current main collaborator, Grammy-winning producer Toby Gad (John Legend‘s “All of Me,” Beyoncé‘s “If I Were a Boy” and more), as well as Emma Rosen and Will Jay.
“I had been journaling some thoughts one night, about finding a love that would accept all of me unconditionally, and that’s what I went with when we started to write it,” Justice tells PEOPLE. “It came together while at a writing camp in Baja, Mexico, with Toby Gad at his beach house.”
“Raw” finds the former Nickelodeon star encountering a partner who sees her for who she truly is, which can sometimes be awkward, messy, sad, sexy, anxious, lovely and everything in between. “Would you take me with my flaws? / ‘Cause I’m not perfect, but I’ll givе you raw,” she sings on its chorus.
The song comes to life with a visual, directed by Billy Seeberg, that opens in black-and-white with Justice walking around a home as she ponders the idea of fully opening up to a romantic partner. Once the second verse comes around, and she sings about “showin’ you the colors no one’s seen before,” the video transitions to full color, as she prepares to go all-in on love.
“My creative process for this music video was to have a feel-good vibe surrounding the energy of the song,” says Justice. “Showing an authentic side of myself while also having fun with it, it’s an uplifting and chill song and I wanted people to get that message through this video.”
After initially launching into music with songs from the hit Nickelodeon series Victorious and her debut single “Gold” over a decade ago, Justice returned with a string of independently-released singles — including “Last Man Standing, “Only a Stranger” and “Tripped” — throughout the past few years.
Now, she’s working closely with Gad and released a cover of Fergie‘s “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” which he co-wrote, as part of his Piano Diaries series reimagining some of the biggest songs from his catalog.
Aside from music, Justice recently acted alongside Noah Schnapp in The Tutors, and she’ll star in the upcoming thriller Depravity as well as a guest role on NBC’s Suits: L.A. pilot.