Fridae

It shouldn't come as a big surprise that Darren Hayes decided to put out the video for his new single "On The Verge Of Something Wonderful" on Independence Day here in the United States. As corny as it may sound to some, this new video shows the singer in a glorious new light as a happy, confident and independent new man who has put his personal struggles behind him.�

The video was directed and produced by The Saline Project who earlier worked with the Black Eyed Peas, Keane and Eminem. The nifty folks at Saline did an excellent job of visualizing Hayes' vision for his new CD. "This Delicate Thing We've Made" is an album that touches upon many subjects, but Hayes has said in interviews that he mostly wanted to capture the feeling of standing on the edge of a new experience and preparing to plunge, free of boundaries. That moment of thrill and sense of adventure is clearly also what inspired the look and feel of this video.

The video has a distinct visual edge with speedy motion animaton and a variety of color sequences that come right at the viewer from multiple, moving camera angles. Hayes jumps around in a vintage arcade game, walks proudly in his bright red shoes, balances on top of a gigantic paper aircraft while finding his way in a neon-lit, Tron -like grid. "You can lose your way in the big city," he sings appropriately.

The clip is '80s galore with vintage items flying around including computer game equipment, floppy discs, monitors and none other than Janice Dickinson with shopping bags. Some people never go out of fashion I guess.

This self-financed video is light-years ahead of what many other indie acts would ever be able to afford. Now that Darren Hayes is his own boss, he definitely felt the expense crunch while working on this project. "I could buy a house or shoot a video in L.A.," he told a morning show in Australia last week.

Thankfully, the singer chose not to buy a swanky Malibu mansion, but rather give his fans and other pop lovers something to enjoy with this slick new video.