The release of Zayn and Taylor Swift's duet from the Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack with absolutely no warning threw me into a full tizzy. When I saw that they'd put out a video for the song as well, it was code red. But, as it turns out, Swift and Zayn's "I Don't Wanna Live Forever" video is fake, so I need to know when the real thing will be out. Or at least take a breather and lie down for a second, because this back and forth is exhausting.
The song itself was released Dec. 8, out of nowhere, and, because I am greedy and no amount of pop culture is ever enough, I was immediately ready for the video. I was wondering how Swift and Zayn would look as a couple, and whether Gigi Hadid would be mad at her boyfriend and her friend for making pretend kisses. In short, I was way ahead of myself, and super susceptible to the "music video," which was published to ZaynVEVO on Dec. 9.
In retrospect, it should have been obvious that the video wasn't real, given that it contained no footage of Swift and Zayn actually interacting, hodge-podged in scenes from the Fifty Shades Darker trailer that we've already seen, and — oh yeah — didn't actually include the music or lyrics to "Don't Wanna Live Forever." But, sue me, I was excited. I wanted the video to be real, and there was no reason to believe that it wasn't.
But then the details started to click into place: the other videos on the ZaynVEVO channel were all uploaded on Friday, and the actual ZaynVEVO account, which has been verified, has no trace of the "I Don't Wanna Live Forever" video. You can watch this patchwork quilt of nothingness below, if you like random scenes from a trailer, shots of Zayn sitting around by himself, and footage of Swift from her Vogue Australia shoot. But, otherwise, it doesn't have much to offer you.
So when will the actual "I Don't Wanna Live Forever" video be out? There's no official word, because clearly Zayn and Swift are not in the habit right now of giving their fans any advance information about this song. Bustle has reached out to both of their publicists for comment, but have yet to receive a response. If I had to guess, I'd imagine it would come out at the same time as Fifty Shades Darker, for cross-promotion purposes. That means we can likely expect the "I Don't Wanna Live Forever" video around Feb. 14, 2017.
Here's hoping it will contain actual words and scenes with these two artists, y'know, actually interacting. I won't get fooled again.
Image: ZaynVEVO/YouTube
