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Fletcher's 'Forever' Video Is Everything Her 'Queer-Ass Heart' Could Have Dreamed Of

She explains how the 'empowering and hot' clip usurps gender norms

Timing is everything, and on Fletcher's new single "Forever," the time for love just ain't right.

On Friday (March 13), the "Undrunk" singer returned with another brutally honest bop about finding the perfect partner — and then asking for a raincheck on the relationship. "I got a couple drunk kisses I still need to get out my system," she admits. "You the type I wanna spend my whole life with / But not the one I spent tonight with."

Her hesitation doesn't just stem from the impulse to party and hook up — according to Fletcher, it's also about learning to love herself first before she can commit to loving someone else.

"This is something I've been trying to do for ages, but haven't really been successful with," she explained in an email to MTV News. "It's a song about wanting to fall in love with my independence and freedom and learning how to stand on my own two feet. Learning to do this is hard, and I’m messing up, and have no idea what I’m doing. But does anyone, really?"

The accompanying, Ethan Lader-directed video shines a light on the young and carefree, as Fletcher and a posse of strong women dance and let loose. It's equal parts "Cell Block Tango"-style feminine fierceness and "I'm A Slave 4 U"-inspired sweaty choreo, especially in the vid's final scenes.

"I love the very end when we're all in the different shades of skin tone body suits," Fletcher said. "It was super empowering and sweaty and just everything my queer ass heart could've dreamed of." She added, "It was so empowering and HOT to be surrounded by so many different types of women and skin tones and body types. They all had such rockin' bodies and were so confident in their movement and literally brought the video to life."

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Not only that, but Fletcher wants fans to look closely at their movements, which find them expressing their sexuality in a way that usurps gender norms.

"To me it wasn't so much about having choreography, it was more about having movement and each of us feeling comfortable in our bodies," she said. "You always see dudes grabbing their crotch area so I was like, we're gonna do that too. But then we can also be really soft and sensual and touch each other. For me, it's always about showcasing duality."

"Forever" is Fletcher's first single of the year and marks a change of pace for the singer-songwriter, whose 2019 EP, You Ruined New York City For Me, found her brokenhearted and ruminating on a crumbled relationship. With "Forever," she's the one breaking hearts — and there may be more of that to come on her forthcoming debut album.

"This new era of music that I have coming is all coming from a way fresher, more vulnerable place because it's about things that are currently happening in my life at this very moment that I'm still trying to process, navigate, and understand," she explained. "This music is way more in real time, so it feels more difficult for me to talk about, because I’m still trying to understand my own feelings. Which really scares me, but I'm trying my best."

But before we hear Fletcher's album in full, the singer-songwriter will be treating fans to a jam-packed spring. First there's "Last Laugh," her impending contribution to the Promising Young Woman soundtrack, which she describes as "a 'don't fuck with me' song — I feel like a very savage bitch when I sing it." Then, in April, she'll hit the road with Lewis Capaldi and her "Lover" duet partner, Niall Horan, on the Nice To Meet Ya Tour, which is shaping up to be quite the rowdy trek.

"They're both two of the funniest people I know," Fletcher said about her tourmates. "But my liver isn't looking forward to being on the road with those boys. The amount of alcohol that's going to be consumed… I'm not sure I'm ready for that."

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