It is tough to decide where to start when discussing Daphne & Celeste. These two teenagers were thrust into the charts when the genre called bubblegum pop music was falling apart. The vibrant and cartoony approach of the duo- Karen Diconcetto and Celeste Cruz entirely switched on to the sheer absurdity around them.
They have created the era’s most demented song “U.G.L.Y” followed by smashes-pitched-up playground taunts torn from the pages of Malcom Mclaren’s wrong-pop rulebook. Although many people made negative comments on this song, a huge section celebrated the song too. They have further justified the song by considering it to be the inspirational, feel-good, and believe-in-yourself type of song. This kind of bubblegum pop song sometimes comes off as cheesy, preachy, and vapid but “U.G.L.Y” is definitely not one of them.
One of the major things that make Daphne & Celeste unique from the other pop stars is the way they speak and behave while interviewing. However, they never go out of their way to be disruptive. When the interviewers asked patronizing questions to the popstars, they invariably got deadpan responses, and that’s why they are often misinterpreted by people. They never behaved like most teenagers who’d been thrust into the spotlight would.
Before the song “U.G.L.Y ”, the singer’s debuted single album was “Ooh Sticky You” which was incredibly catchy, bratty, and draft. They earned a top ten hit and the song “U.G.L.Y ” had an inevitable follow-up but the production company Universal already had several songs like that including “U.G.L.Y ” written before auditioning anyone to sing them. The audience of the song later came to know that this single really had something that needs to be acknowledged. The song is completely tone-deaf if compared with today’s standards. But it is true that this point of the song was criticized at that as well. People also called out the song because it had the potential to encourage bullying and a group of impressionable audience was concerned.
The song “U.G.L.Y ” feels a little discomforting and awkward nowadays because of the perspective of the bully it carries. In our belief, everyone has their own level of tolerance for how much enjoyment and humor can still be looked at. But according to the creators of the song “You Ug;y”, this was clearly intended to be light-hearted, but being on the receiving end, this might not feel funny at all.
Daphne & Celeste could get away with this because of being pop music’s irritating younger siblings who weren’t hated by their peers but tolerated more than anything else. Many people were convinced that this song is more of a comedy because of an interlude on a sketch show. They overlooked the genuine attempt of offense. If we look at the wider aspect of the song’s existence, it is originated as a political statement that goes like “ Ugly, you ain’t got no alibi, U.G.L.Y ! Ey, ey! U.G.L.Y ”.
After a vivid description of the song “U.G.L.Y ” by Daphne & Celeste, when we consider the music video, it is pretty much written itself-opted not to take the literal route. The visuals of the song represent the cheerleader angle, along with Y.M.C.A choreography. You’ll find chaotic energy running throughout the video with a flurry of timelapse backgrounds, double-speed performances, huge jump cuts, and camera zoom effects.
Although the singer had a modest budget to work with, there is sheer disarray and disorder created by the editing techniques. This duo faced a bit of criticism but that did not stop them from being who they are.
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