History Music / TessaViolet

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Tessa dyed her hair pink when she was working on ''Halloway''. For ''Bad Ideas'', she bleached it. (For the record, she's a natural brunette.)

* ShoutOut: According to a behind the scenes video, the music video for "I Like (the idea of) You" was deliberately crafted as an homage to Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots are Made For Walking". Tessa and her backup dancers wear baggy sweaters over black leotards and dark pantyhose with heeled black dancing shoes to evoke the minidresses, boots, and usage of ShesGotLegs from the original video, and the choreography is similar, as well.

* {{Retraux}}: ''Bad Ideas'' has a worn, vintage look for its final album cover, and the music videos for "Crush" and "I Like (the idea of) You" are shot in a way intended to evoke older media. The video for "Crush" is supposed to look like it's being watched on an old VHS tape, even starting with the sound of inserting a tape into a VCR and turning the channel to 3, and "I Like (the idea of) You"'s video looks like it was shot on actual film. "I Like (the idea of) You" is also costumed in a way evoking the 60s, specifically evoking Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots are Made For Walking". A punk remix was released in collaboration with lovelytheband, and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eGY6_kfTfs the accompanying music video]] legitimately looks like it was made in TheNineties and was subsequently home-recorded onto a VHS tape.

* CannotTalkToWomen: One of the secondary themes of "Bad Ideas", depicted more clearly in the music video, centers around how awkward we get around our crushes. The lyrics refer to wanting to see the grooves between the crush's hands and teeth, mention how the protagonist's sheets smell like their crush, and the video has Tessa in several awkward-looking shots, such as staring into the camera with her cheek mashed into a tabletop and one eye behind a glass of water so part of her face looks backwards, tucked under or in a haphazard jumble of couch cushions, or poking her arms through a giant hanging sheet of paper.

* {{Homage}}: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne5AQiEFvBI music video for Tessa's collaboration recording of "Games" with lovelytheband]] is essentially a recreation of the baseball scene from the first ''Film/{{Twilight}}'' movie in music video form, down to the grayish color wash, the fact that the musicians are playing baseball, and the occasional flashes of orange eyes signifying a satiated vampire in that series. Creator/PeterFacinelli, who played Carlisle Cullen in the films, even makes a cameo appearance.

* {{Homage}}: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne5AQiEFvBI music video for Tessa's collaboration recording of "Games" with lovelytheband]] is essentially a recreation of the baseball scene from the first ''Film/{{Twilight}}'' movie in music video form, down to the grayish color wash, the fact that the musicians are playing baseball, and the occasional flashes of orange eyes signifying a satiated vampire in that series.

* {{Retraux}}: ''Bad Ideas'' has a worn, vintage look for its final album cover, and the music videos for "Crush" and "I Like (the idea of) You" are shot in a way intended to evoke older media. The video for "Crush" is supposed to look like it's being watched on an old VHS tape, even starting with the sound of inserting a tape into a VCR and turning the channel to 3, and "I Like (the idea of) You"'s video looks like it was shot on actual film. "I Like (the idea of) You" is also costumed in a way evoking the 60s, specifically evoking Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots are Made For Walking". A punk remix was released in collaboration with lovelytheband, and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eGY6_kfTfs the accompanying music video]] legitimately looks like it was recorded in TheNineties and was recorded onto a VHS tape.

* {{Homage}}: The music video for Tessa's collaboration recording of "Games" with lovelytheband is essentially a recreation of the baseball scene from the first ''Film/{{Twilight}}'' movie in music video form, down to the grayish color wash, the fact that the musicians are playing baseball, and the occasional flashes of orange eyes signifying a satiated vampire in that series.

* {{Retraux}}: ''Bad Ideas'' has a worn, vintage look for its final album cover, and the music videos for "Crush" and "I Like (the idea of) You" are shot in a way intended to evoke older media. The video for "Crush" is supposed to look like it's being watched on an old VHS tape, even starting with the sound of inserting a tape into a VCR and turning the channel to 3, and "I Like (the idea of) You"'s video looks like it was shot on actual film. "I Like (the idea of) You" is also costumed in a way evoking the 60s, specifically evoking Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots are Made For Walking". A punk remix was released in collaboration with lovelytheband, and the accompanying music video legitimately looks like it was recorded in TheNineties and was recorded onto a VHS tape.

* {{Retraux}}: ''Bad Ideas'' has a worn, vintage look for its final album cover, and the music videos for "Crush" and "I Like (the idea of) You" are shot in a way intended to evoke older media. The video for "Crush" is supposed to look like it's being watched on an old VHS tape, even starting with the sound of inserting a tape into a VCR and turning the channel to 3, and "I Like (the idea of) You"'s video looks like it was shot on actual film. "I Like (the idea of) You" is also costumed in a way evoking the 60s, specifically evoking Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots are Made For Walking".

* MindScrew: The music video for "Dream" is filled with disparate and assorted scenes and imagery that don't have much to do with each other or even the lyrics, and were apparently selected on the basis of how dreamlike they are, both in isolation and in evoking the RandomEventsPlot nature of [[RealDreamsAreWeirder most actual dreams]]. The end result manages to be incredibly beautiful and well-executed.

** In her very first album, we have "Sorry I'm Not Sorry" recounting how domineering lover did not turn out to be a prince and not being sorry to leave him, making it the Over You flavor, and "Now That We're Done", which is of the I Want You Back flavor.

** On ''Bad Ideas'', there's "Games", "Feelin'", and "Words Ain't Enough", all in a row, and all of the Over You variety, but with very different emotions.

* ExhaustedEyeBags: Tessa has noticeable bags under her eyes in the music video for "Crush", which combines with her sloppy clothing and lack of obvious makeup to tie into how her crush on the subject of the song is keeping her from focusing on anything, including sleep, most likely.

* LyricalDissonance: Some of Tessa's darkest subject matter features in her catchiest songs. "Games" is notable for being about a lover who gaslights the protagonist and plays mind games that regularly drive them to tears and leave them doubting reality, and it's set to a powerful hip hop-inspired beat. "Bored" is even more upbeat and energetic in instrumentation and style, and it seems to be about depression and nihilism.

* DespairEventHorizon: "Bored", despite its upbeat tune, is about depression and nihilism, culminating with the realization that life is totally meaningless.

There seems to be
\\Somethin' that you keep behind your teeth''

* DownerBeginning: "Prelude" opens ''Bad Ideas'', Tessa's darkest album yet, with a quiet, resigned description of an unhealthy relationship, admissions that this isn't the first relationship of this sort they've had, and the protagonist speculating that they might be the problem, and not their cold, taciturn lover. "''And even when it's only you and me / There seems to be / Somethin' that you keep behind your teeth...''"

* ObsessionSong: The second through fourth songs of ''Bad Ideas'' track the progression of an obsessive, unhealthy romance. "Crush" is a love song all about how the protagonist's crush on the subject has consumed her life, and made her start stalking them on social media. The theme is continued through "Bad Ideas" as the protagonist finds themself pining after the object of their affections despite knowing it's a bad idea, and the protagonist's infatuation finally reaches an unhealthy fever pitch in "I Like (the idea of) You" as they declare their obsessive desire for their lover's approval, until the romance comes crashing down in "Games" and continues downhill from there.

[[https://www.youtube.com/user/meekakitty Tessa Violet]] Williams (20 March 1990-) is a [=YouTuber=] and indie pop singer-songwriter.

Discography:

* ObsessionSong: The second through fourth songs of ''Bad Ideas'' track the progression of an obsessive, unhealthy romance. "Crush" is a love song all about how the protagonist's crush on the subject has consumed her life, and made her start stalking them on social media. The theme is continued through "Bad Ideas" as the protagonist finds themself pining after the object of their affections despite knowing it's a bad idea, and finally "I Like (the idea of) You" as the protagonist's infatuation reaches an unhealthy fever pitch, until the romance comes crashing down in "Games" and continues downhill from there.

* Maybe Trapped Mostly Troubled (2014)
* Halloway (2016)
* Bad Ideas (2019)

* MsFanservice: The music video for "I Like (the idea of) You" is a rare instance of Tessa being sexualized, between the choreography and costuming that shows off her legs. Usually, she tries to cultivate a 'pretty', or occasionally [[UnkemptBeauty unkempt]] aesthetic, and veering this close to 'sexy' was so odd for her that her manager took her aside and asked her if she was okay with being sexy. It does fit with the obsessive infatuation described in the lyrics, what with the bridge being about the protagonist giving themself over to the object of their affections to an unhealthy degree.

* DownerBeginning: "Prelude" opens ''Bad Ideas'', Tessa's darkest album yet, with a quiet, resigned description of an unhealthy relationship, admissions that this isn't the first relationship of this sort they've had, and the protagonist speculating that they might be the problem, and not their secretive lover.

* AllTakeAndNoGive: The subject of "Sorry I'm Not Sorry" is about leaving a domineering soon-to-be ex-lover who never seems to have time for the protagonist.

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Tessa dyed her hair pink when she was working on ''Halloway''. For ''Bad Ideas'', she bleached it.

** In her very first album, we have "Sorry I'm Not Sorry" recounting how domineering lover did not turn out to be a prince and not being sorry to leave him, making it the Over You flavor, and "Now That We're Done", which is of the I Want You Back Flavor.

* ObsessionSong: The second through fourth songs track the progression of an obsessive, unhealthy romance. "Crush" is a love song all about how the protagonist's crush on the subject has consumed her life, and made her start stalking them on social media. The theme is continued through "Bad Ideas" as the protagonist finds themself pining after the object of their affections despite knowing it's a bad idea, and finally "I Like (the idea of) You" as the protagonist's infatuation reaches an unhealthy fever pitch, until the romance comes crashing down in "Games" and continues downhill from there.

[[https://www.youtube.com/user/meekakitty Tessa Violet]] Williams (20 March 1990-) is a [=YouTuber=] and indie pop singer-songwriter. She was a prominent figure in the early days of [=YouTube=] vlogging under the name meekakitty before she shifted over to her music career and the name Tessa Violet in 2013. She's known for her light singing voice, and her music focuses on themes of love, loss, codependency, and relationships past, present, and possible future.