False Confidence by Noah Kahan

Notes

• [0:00 – 0:07] It’s “Open Mic Night Week 1”, and the host/speaker just introduced a singer by the name of Noah Kahan. Or in their own words “Noah Kahan or some shit”.
• [0:13 – 0:14] You can distinctly hear him (Noah) correct the pronunciation of his name, but it seems to go unanswered.
• [0:15 – 0:25] Some of the customers in the bar immediately lose interest after seeing Noah nervously walk up the stage.
• [0:26 – 0:32] Scene cuts to Noah back in his room dressing up in the same outfit he is seen wearing to the open mic event. He breathes out nervously while checking himself out in the mirror.
• [0:33 – 0:45] We’re back in the bar, and it’s clear that Noah is feeling extremely pressured. He looks around at the walls and looks lost. The speaker from the beginning takes down some notes.
• [0:46] We see a google search of “Cool male artist looks”.
• [0:47 – 0:55] Noah is now dressed differently, completely in black, shades, chains, cap. And we’re onto “Open Mic Night Week 2”.
• [1:00 – 1:10] Noah pops a party popper, but everyone looks on with disinterest. The speaker shakes his head.
• [1:11] We see Noah in a new look again.
• [1:26] It’s “Open Mic Night Week 3” and again no seems interested in Noah.
• [1:38 – 1:44] New look again! And it’s week 4 of the event. Still no luck.
• [1:58] Week 5. The speaker looks disappointed in Noah. And Noah contemplates about all his decisions to dress different for the past few weeks. He seems frustrated and angry.
• [2:40] We see Noah on his bed when he suddenly jumps up with energy. At the bar, he’s dressed up casually and waiting for the audience to settle in. It’s week 6 for the record.
• [2:55] We finally see some reaction from the audience. They seem to enjoy the performance.
• [3:32 – end] The audience is clapping for Noah and he smiles.

Conclusion

The song’s intended audience seems to be anyone who’s wanting to seek approval from others. Or I suppose in a way, anyone trying to succeed at something. In this music video’s case, it’s Noah trying to succeed with his musical career. From the very start of the video our protagonist, Noah, is introduced almost halfheartedly. When he tries to correct his introduction, no one answers him and he goes ignored. When he begins singing, everyone turns away almost immediately and goes back to their own business. Throughout the rest of the music video, Noah repeatedly changes his looks to try to attract the audience’s interest. Yet, despite how many times he changed and the various styles he tried on, no one pays him any mind. It’s only when Noah goes back to a casual wear (seemingly what he wears normally) and performs with confidence do people start listening and cheering him on. From this, I can discern two messages. One, you shouldn’t change yourself and pretend to be someone you aren’t. Putting on a false confidence does not take you to where you want to be. And two, not everyone will appreciate you, but that doesn’t mean no one will. In the music video, Noah is ignored plenty of times, but it isn’t until much later on when is finally acknowledged. Sometimes people just don’t appreciate your work, but that doesn’t mean you should give up.

Song Link

• https://youtu.be/SF84c-Ehxls (Official Music Video)
• https://youtu.be/SNCQsu5uXbo (This is not the music video, but it’s also an interesting depiction of the song)