Feature length films – like the ones we detailed in our list of such, which you can watch here – aren’t the only type of motion picture to be shot in Barbados by international entities. Indeed, the island has been a filming location for television series, reality series, commercials, and, of course, music videos.
Since at least the 1980s, pop stars, R&B artists, and at least one rock band have chosen Barbados as the setting of the visual productions that accompany their songs. Seven such music videos are listed herein and most of them were shot entirely in Barbados. In fact, only one or two were partially filmed on the island.
To clarify, this is not meant to be a complete list of every single music video by an international artist that was filmed in Barbados. These are the ones that are easily discoverable with a Google search and perusing the list of productions that have listed Barbados as a location on IMDb. Additionally, this list is not ranked; the entries are in order of release.
With that out of the way, here are the music videos.
Keep Me In Mind by Boy George
According to IMDb, this music video was released in June 1987. Unfortunately, IMDb doesn’t give specifics as to where in Barbados the video was filmed. Still, the beach scenes do look like they were filmed on the East Coast; that part of the island has a pretty distinctive look.
Cheers (Drink to That) – Rihanna
Jumping forward in time a few decades brings us to August 25th, 2011, when this music video premiered. Warrens and Becks Bar are immediately identifiable (the latter entirely because Rihanna wrote the name while signing a wall), as is Kensington Oval where portions of the video were filmed during the Barbados stop of Rihanna’s LOUD tour. Filming also took place along the Kadooment Day route.
Lia T. Bascombe in her book In Plenty and in Time of Need: Popular Culture and the Remapping of Barbadian Identity states that the music video was “part of the 2011 deal between Rihanna and the Barbados Tourism Authority…”
Can’t Get Enough – J.Cole feat Trey Songz
This music video has a connection to Rihanna’s LOUD tour as well. While in Barbados to perform as an opening act for said tour, J. Cole filmed the video in early August 2011.
The video seems to have largely been shot in Oistins and Welches. Namely at a bright yellow establishment in Oistins Bay Gardens, what looks to be Welches Beach, and the bus stop opposite Rubis in Oistins. In addition to these locations, the video also includes quick shots of Graeme Hall Road, Bay Street, and Hastings Main Road.
If I’m not mistaken, you can see Riddim Tribe dancer Aisha Commisiong in the background of a few shots in the last third of the video. Specifically at 2: 42 and 2:49.
In an interview with Rap Up J. Cole said that a friend suggested he film the video in Barbados and that he shot it in one day. He called the shoot “a fun experience” and described it as “one of those moments in my life I’ll never forget”.
Summer Paradise – Simple Plan feat Sean Paul
Simple Plan filmed this music video in Barbados over two or three days in early March 2012 and released it on May 29th. This is the song’s second video and its official music video.
There are quite a few identifiable locations in the video; notably, Bathsheba, East Coast Road, Cherry Tree Hill, and just off shore at Needham’s Point/Pebbles Beach (you can see the canons at the Hilton Resort in the left of the frame at 0:50).
Likewise, there’s a very identifiable face in the video; that of local model Kari McCarthy-Miller who makes a few brief appearances.
If you want to see more about the music video shoot, the band released a behind-the-scenes video as well.
I Could Be The One – Avicii vs Nicky Romero
This music video was released on December 24th, 2012.
According to Ocean Spray Beach Apartments’ website, the crew stayed there during filming and shot some of the music video in their restaurant and in one of the apartments. When you watch the video you’ll see Cherry Tree Hill, Harbour Lights, and what appears to be Walkers Beach in St. Andrew.
Assurance – Davido
Davido and his team went all over Barbados when filming this music video, which was published to YouTube on May 1st, 2018. That’s not only evident from watching the video itself, but also in its behind-the-scenes video in which the team is driving all over the island.
Some of the instantly recognisable locations in the video include East Coast Road, Cove Bay in St. Lucy, the car park at Pebbles Beach, and Harbour Lights. Additionally, it was filmed at Andromeda Gardens. They shared the video to their Facebook page in 2020, revealing their connection to it. It was also filmed near the pier leading to Pier One restaurant in Speightstown.
On their website, the Barbadian aerial photography and video company Above Barbados shared that they filmed drone shots for the music video.
This is another video in which Aisha Commisiong appears. She and other members of the Dance Group, Riddim Tribe (specifically Nandi Yarde, Clé Woods, Shea Best, and Simon Gill), are in the video. As is entertainer Daba Davisual.
They Don’t Know – WSTRN
This music video premiered on YouTube on October 22nd 2019.
In the first few seconds of the video there’s a lower third that identifies the location as “Bogotá, Barbados”. But I don’t know what that means or what to make of it. At any rate, a few of the locations distinguishable in the video are the Garfield Sobers Gymnasium, Deacons Road, and Dover Beach (specifically the stretch of it by Southern Palms Beach Club).
Less distinguishable are two shots of roadways that look to be Highway 5 in Stepney, St. George and the Tom Adams Highway in the Wotton/Kingsland area of Christ Church.
